The Pittsburgh Pirates have had a handful of great rookie seasons in recent years. Two of the best belong to a pair of left fielders, which of these two seasons was the better one?
The Pittsburgh Pirates have had a handful of notable rookie seasons in their history. This included last season when the Pirates had two of the best rookies in the National League in outfielder Bryan Reynolds and shortstop Kevin Newman.
Out of the strong rookie campaigns that Pirate players have enjoyed in recent seasons, two stand out above the rest. These two seasons were Reynolds aforementioned rookie campaign from 2019, and Jason Bay’s 2004 National League Rookie of the Year season. But, between the two, which left fielder had the better rookie season?
Each player brought different skills to the table. There is also an argument to be made for each player as to which had the better rookie season. Can that debate be settled?
Today, let’s look back at each of their seasons. Analyze what they did good, areas in which they could have been better, and come to a verdict. We will do our best to decide which of the two players had a better rookie season with the Pittsburgh Pirates.