Jason Lee "Jay" Payton (born November 22, 1972 in
Zanesville, Ohio) is an outfielder in Major League
Baseball, who currently plays for the Baltimore
Orioles. He has played for the New York Mets
(1998-2002), Colorado Rockies (2002-03), San Diego
Padres (2004), Boston Red Sox (2005) and Oakland
Athletics (2005-2006). He bats and throws
right-handed. Payton is an opposite-field hitter
with some power. As a runner, he has decent
instincts but he is not a base stealer. Defensively,
he is a solid center fielder with an average arm,
although his quickness getting rid of the ball helps
him hold baserunners on the base paths. He can play
all three positions in the outfield. Jay lives in NC
during the off season and has a son named Preston
who was born in June 2004.
Payton attended Zanesville High School in
Zanesville, Ohio, and starred in soccer, basketball,
and baseball. He was also an excellent student and
graduated in the top 4 percent of his class.
Selected by the Mets in the first round (29th pick)
of the 1994 amateur draft, Payton hadn't fulfilled
the great expectations he projected in Georgia Tech
when he rated ahead of his teammates Nomar
Garciaparra and Jason Varitek. He debuted in 1998,
and after ankle, foot and back injuries in three of
his first four seasons, he eventually had to alter
his hitting style. With limited duty in 2001, the
Mets finally gave up on him and was traded to the
Rockies in the 2002 midseason.
In 2003, Payton enjoyed his most productive season
with career highs in home runs (28), RBI (89), runs
(93), hits (181), doubles (32), on base percentage
(.354), slugging average (.512), at bats (600) and
games played (157), and added a respectable .302
batting average. He was signed by San Diego as a
free agent at the end of the season. What the Padres
liked best was that he hit 15 of his 28 home runs
away from Coors Field's thin air. But Payton had a
subpar 2004 season batting .260 with eight homers
and 55 RBI in 143 games. In December, he was sent to
Boston for Dave Roberts and took over Roberts' role
as the Red Sox fourth outfielder.
Payton was designated for assignment by the Red Sox
on July 7, 2005, after being publicly disgruntled
over his lack of playing time. On July 13, he was
traded to the Oakland Athletics for pitcher Chad
Bradford. Payton hit a home run on the first pitch
in his first at bat for his new club, and earned a
cult status for a brief period after winning many
games for the A's with an otherwise struggling
offense. In 2006, Payton played regularly in the
outfield for the Athletics while batting .296 with
10 home runs and 59 RBIs. On July 3, 2006, he hit
his 100th career home run. On December 8, Payton
agreed to terms on a two-year, $9.75 million
contract with the Baltimore Orioles.
