Jacoby Ellsbury, Pt. 2

 

Last season, Red Sox centerfielder Coco Crisp was injured late in June.  The World Champions-to-be made a good choice and brought up star Paw Sox player Jacoby Ellsbury.  The young Navajo was the number one prospect in Red Sox Nation at the time, and with a hit in his very first Major League game, he was already proving it.  However, three games later he made waves that affected the whole fan base.

  On July 2^nd, Ellsbury stole second base in a game against the Texas Rangers.  When their pitcher Brandon McCarthy threw a wild pitch, Jacoby took off and got to third.  But he didn’t stop there.  Disregarding 3^rd base coach DeMarlo Hale’s signs to stop, the speedy outfielder hustled straight home, scoring from second base in a play Sox Hall of Famer Johnny Pesky described as “the greatest single play I’ve ever seen in all my years in baseball.”  Pretty impressive for a kid fresh from the minors.

Jacoby has been doing just as much, if less stupendous, damage since then.  After six games with the Red Sox, he was transferred back down to the minors with Coco’s return to health.  In the fall when Major League teams’ rosters expanded to 40 players, Ellsbury was brought back up, and one day later he got his first Major League home run.  By the end of the regular season, Ellsbury had nine stolen bases, three homers, and seven doubles, all in only 116 at-bats.  Jacoby was named the Rookie of the Month for September, and with less than 130 at-bats in ’07, he still qualifies as a rookie this year.  He could be on his way to a Rookie of the Year award.

            In the postseason last year, Ellsbury shined.  When Crisp was struggling in the AL Championship Series, Jacoby was put back into the lineup.  In eleven games, Jacoby got two stolen bases, along with nine hits, including four doubles.  Two of these doubles came in the same inning, the third inning of game 3 of the World Series against Rockies pitcher Josh Fogg.  He was the first rookie, and only the second player, to get two doubles in the same inning of a World Series game.  And as if that wasn’t enough, he got another double in the 8^th.  He was one of only four rookies to ever accomplish this feat, and with a single as well, he became one of three to have four hits in a World Series game, and the first since 1946.  The fact that Ellsbury got two doubles in the same inning is a testament to not only his speed and consistency, but also the Red Sox’s skill to bat through the order in one inning.  Jacoby McCabe Ellsbury (cool middle name) is my favorite rookie in the MLB today.

            Now, it’s time for stats on the rising stars of the Sox so far this season.  Japanese legend Daisuke Matsuzaka is undefeated through three games, with his fourth coming tonight.  My man Dustin Pedroia has 23 hits this season, including five doubles.  Pitcher Clay Buchholz is not doing as well as I had hoped after his no-hitter last season, with an 0-1 record and 6.75 ERA.  Julio Lugo is not doing terrible, with sixteen hits and two doubles.  My Rookie of the Year, Jacoby, is doing very well, stealing four bases while getting nine hits and a home run.  Next week: meet pitcher Clay Buchholz.