Jason Bay: Is the New York Mets Slugger Regaining his Form?

When Jason Bay failed to produce in his first season with the New York Mets, the fans got on his back and complained about his contract. His struggles continued in the beginning of this season.

However, over the last few weeks, the much-maligned Bay is seemingly turning back into the player he once was. He has matched his home run total from last season in 118 less at-bats.

In his first 42 games of the season, Bay had just two home runs and 11 RBI. He was batting .207 with a .303 on-base percentage.

Then, starting on June 15th, things began turning around for Bay. In just 19 games since then, Bay has more home runs (four) and RBI (17) then he had in the first 42.

His .329 batting average is also higher than his on-base percentage through the first 42 games that he played. Bay also has a .386 on-base percentage over this stretch.

If Bay kept up this pace for a whole 162 game season, he would be expected to hit 35 home runs. This is close to the numbers he put up in his best years.

In no way is this piece suggesting that Bay will keep up this pace for the rest of the year. However, it is a very encouraging sign that, as of late, Bay has looked much more comfortable in the plate.

He has the approach that made him so feared in Boston. With Jose Reyes out of the Mets lineup for the next few weeks, it is important that Bay keeps up with his current pace.

While Bay is batting only .248 with a .354 slugging percentage this year, his recent hot streak suggests that these numbers should both see some significant increases throughout the rest of the season.

The Mets better hope for it too, because with the way that they have been losing players from their lineup, they need Bay to be consistent.