Bay debuted with the Padres on May 23, 2003, getting his first major league hit, a home run, in the ninth inning. Two days later, he suffered a broken right wrist after being hit by a pitch. August 26, 2003, Bay was traded to the Pittsburgh Pirates, along with Óliver Pérez and Cory Stewart in exchange for Brian Giles. He finished the season with a .287 batting average, four home runs, and 14 RBI in 30 games.
2004: Bay batted .282 in 120 games, leading all major league rookies in home runs (26) and RBIs (82). He led all NL rookies in slugging percentage (.550), extra base hits (54) and total bases (226). With his 26 home runs, Bay broke a Pirates rookies record of 23 set by Johnny Rizzo in 1936 and matched by Ralph Kiner in 1946. Selected as the 2004 NL Rookie of the Year by The Sporting News, Bay was the second Pittsburgh Pirates player honored with the award, after second baseman Johnny Ray in 1982. Bay was also the first Canadian player to win the award
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