August 1, 2008 Bay: new to Fenway, but not to Red Sox Nation Play video

(NECN) - Jason Bay may be new to the Boston Red Sox, but he's no stranger to the Sox fan base. He grew up in it.

"I had a Red Sox onesie when I was growing up," the British Columbia native told reporters, noting that his father was a diehard Sox fan.

In his bedroom as a kid? Posters of Jim Rice and Carl Yastrzemski.

And Bay remembers his only trip to Fenway as a member of the Red Sox, for the atmosphere - and the rendition of 'Sweet Caroline'. He noted the atmosphere between Fenway Park and Yankee Stadium, where the Pirates visited on the trip, was totally different.

And he says of his friend and former teammate Xavier Nady, who was traded to the Yankees last week, "I guess we'll have to learn to hate each other a couple of weekends a year."