Number two, he didn't force the Mets to pay him $66 million. His huge salary doesn't make his bad year "disgraceful". It makes it disappointing. But baseball players have off-years. They always have and always will -- no matter how much they earn.

I would consider it "disgraceful" if Bay didn't hustle, but he hustled.

Know what's dishgraceful? That going to a MLB game costs as much as it does. But that's a point for a different forum.

So far, he hasn't hit home runs.

Consider the stats of the first two years of the FA contracts for the other Mets in the running for this award - Bobby Bonilla, George Foster and Dave Kingman (resigned by the Mets in 1981). Bay is by far the worst.

Bobby Bonilla

1992 - 19 HR, 70 RBI, .249 BA, .780 OPS 1993 - 34 HR, 87 RBI, .265 BA, .874 OPS

George Foster

1982 - 13 HR, 70 RBI, .247 BA, .667 OPS 1983 - 28 HR, 90 RBI, .241 BA, .708 OPS

Dave Kingman

1981 - 22 HR, 59 RBI, .221 BA, .782 OPS (strike year) 1982 - 37 HR, 99 RBI, .204 BA, .717 OPS

Jason Bay

2010 - 6 HR, 47 RBI, .259 BA, .749 OPS 2011 - 12 HR, 57 RBI, .245 BA, .703 OPS

Nice guy too, got to feel bad for him, but enough is enough.

Fast forward to this August; I was at New Shea and I saw a guy wearing a Bay jersey. I thought it was so strange. I pointed it out to my friend and he said "who would wear that?"

So here was a C-level player that the Mets were trying to convince us was an A-level star that would lead them to glory. That's something they do a lot.

But I could not have foreseen his total collapse in New York. His performance with the team makes Roberto Alomar's stay look All-Star worthy. Holy moly, what a letdown.

The only specific moment I remember of Bay's time in New York is when he slammed into the outfield fence and got a concussion. I don't remember much beyond that, but it was rough.

I was excited for him when he latched on with Seattle and initially showed signs of a rebound in 2013. I didn't want his career to end on a sour note. He carried an average near .280 into May, but soon fell off and hit near .200 on the year, and that was all she wrote for Jason Bay.

He had 13 home runs, 73 RBI and 35 stolen bases in just 103 games in their minor league organization that year. At the trade deadline, he was shipped with a minor leaguer and pitcher Bobby J. Jones to the Padres for rental reliever Steve Reed and inconsequential hurler Jason Middlebrook.

Talk about a case of not knowing what you have until it's gone. Imagine if the Mets kept him and he developed into the player he became pre-2010; they lost out on 185 home runs, 610 RBI and a 131 OPS+ and all they got in return was 49 total innings of work from two short-timers.

Hindsight is always 20/20.

Also, before he became a star, he signed autographs through the mail frequently. I've sent to him three times in my life—twice care of the Pirates in 2005 and again through his home address earlier this year. He signed a card the second time I sent to him through Pittsburgh. He stopped signing with any consistency in 2005.