'Burgh's Best to Wear It, No. 38: Jason Bay jammed way to history for Pirates

The Tribune-Review sports staff is conducting a daily countdown of the best players in Pittsburgh pro and college sports history to wear each jersey number.

No. 38: Jason Bay

Jason Bay remains the only player in Pittsburgh Pirates history to win the National League Rookie of the Year award, achieving the feat in 2004.

Two years later, Bay became a member of another exclusive club.

How many other Pirates players — past or present — can say Pearl Jam front man Eddie Vedder stumped for All-Star votes on their behalf?

In 2006, with the All-Star contest set for PNC Park, Bay was a rare bright spot on a team that lost twice as many games as it won in the first half of the season. At a Mellon Arena concert in June, Vedder took time during a set to plead with fans to throw their support behind Bay.

The singer and slugger had a certain kinship. Bay grew up in Trail, British Columbia, not far from Pearl Jam’s roots in Seattle. Bay liked the band’s songs. Vedder, a rabid baseball fan, had a mutual admiration.

The Pirates played a game in Los Angeles that night. When Bay returned to the clubhouse after a ninth loss in a row — the streak would reach 13 — he had numerous missed calls and texts about Vedder’s act of kindness.

Although Vedder’s gesture was a small part of the voting push, the ploy worked. Bay was voted into the starting lineup, becoming the first Pirates player to earn the fan vote since Andy Van Slyke in 1993.

Bay spent the equivalent of five seasons with the Pirates, and his 139 home runs rank ninth on the franchise’s all-time list.

Bay, though, was caught in the cycle of losing that spanned 20 seasons for the franchise. In August 2003, he was acquired as part of the trade that sent All-Star outfielder Brian Giles to the San Diego Padres.

The next year, Bay set the franchise record for home runs by a rookie with 26, and he led all MLB rookies in homers, RBIs, slugging percentage, total bases and extra-base hits.

In 2008, Bay found himself in the Giles role — a veteran player making significant money for a losing team. He was shipped to the Red Sox at the trading deadline in one of the worst deals in franchise history. None of the four players acquired in the three-team deal — Andy LaRoche, Bryan Morris, Brandon Moss and Craig Hansen — made an impact with the Pirates.

Bay continued to slug homers with the Red Sox and appeared in one more All-Star Game. Four times in a five-year span between the two teams, he topped 30 home runs and 100 RBIs.

Bay retired after the 2013 season with 222 career home runs, the fifth-most of any Canadian-born player.

Two Pirates players with Western Pennsylvania roots also wore No. 38.

Export native Bob Moose debuted with the Pirates in 1967 at 19 years old. He pitched for the team until his tragic death in an automobile accident after the 1976 season. Moose is remembered for his no-hitter against the New York Mets in 1969 and the wild pitch in Game 5 of the ’72 NLCS that sent the Pirates to a walk-off loss to the Cincinnati Reds.

Moose was 76-71 with a 3.50 ERA in 289 games and 160 starts. He pitched 35 complete games and 13 shutouts, and he had 10 of his career 19 saves in his final MLB season.

Left-hander Chris Peters of Peters Township spent five of his six MLB seasons with the Pirates (1996-2000), going 17-21 with a 4.57 ERA in 123 games that included 43 starts.

For the Steelers, Sidney Thornton wore No. 38 while earning Super Bowl rings after the 1978 and ’79 seasons as a backup running back. Thornton started alongside Franco Harris in 10 games in 1979, when he rushed for a career-high 585 yards, averaging 5.0 yards per carry, and six touchdowns. Thornton spent all six of his NFL seasons with the Steelers, amassing 1,512 career rushing yards.

Czech centers Jiri and Jan Hrdina were not related, but they each wore No. 38 during their stints with the Penguins. Jiri Hrdina was acquired from Calgary in December 1990 and was a contributor to the Pens’ first two Stanley Cup championship teams.

Jiri Hrdina scored two goals, including the winner, in Game 7 of an opening-round playoff series against the New Jersey Devils in 1991. He also won the Stanley Cup in 1989 with Calgary.

Jan Hrdina made his Penguins debut in 1998 and spent nearly five NHL seasons with the team. His best season was in 2000-01 when he totaled 24 goals and 33 assists. The Penguins traded Hrdina to Arizona in March 2003. His career numbers with the Penguins were 79 goals and 148 assists. He also chipped in 10 goals and 14 assists in three trips to the playoffs.

Check out the entire ’Burgh’s Best to Wear It series here.