Background and career
Jacoby McCabe Ellsbury ( jə-KOH-bee; born September 11, 1983) is an American former professional baseball center fielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Boston Red Sox from 2007 through 2013 and then played for the New York Yankees from 2014 to 2017. An enrolled member of the Colorado River Indian Tribes, Ellsbury is the first Native American of Navajo descent to play Major League Baseball. Ellsbury was drafted by the Tampa Bay Devil Rays in the 23rd round of the 2002 MLB draft, but did not sign. After having played college baseball for three years at Oregon State University, he was selected in the 1st round by the Red Sox, as the 23rd overall pick in the 2005 draft. He made his major league debut for the Red Sox in 2007. In 2011, Ellsbury was named American League Comeback Player of the Year, was named to the American League All-Star team, won a Gold Glove and a Silver Slugger Award, became the first Red Sox player in history to be a member of the 30–30 club, and was the runner-up to Justin Verlander for the American League Most Valuable Player Award. He led the American League in stolen bases three times (in 2008, 2009, and 2013) and won World Series championships as a member of the Red Sox in 2007 and 2013. After the 2013 season, Ellsbury signed a seven-year, $153 million contract with the Yankees. He played for the Yankees from 2014 to 2017, but was unable to play in 2018 or 2019 due to injury. Ellsbury was released by the Yankees on November 20, 2019. He ended his playing days as the single season and career record holder for reaching base via catcher's interference.
Ellsbury was born on September 11, 1983, to Jim and Margie Ellsbury. He is the eldest of four children. The Ellsburys lived on the Warm Springs Indian Reservation until they moved to Madras, Oregon, when Jacoby was in kindergarten. He was raised in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Ellsbury is an enrolled member of the Colorado River Indian Tribes. Margie Ellsbury is a full-blooded Navajo and a descendant of 19th-century tribal leader Ganado Mucho. Her father, Franklin McCabe, was a silversmith, and her mother was a traditional rug weaver. Jim Ellsbury is of English and German descent. In Little League, Ellsbury often played with teammates up to three years older than him. At Madras High School, he lettered in five sports. In his senior year in baseball, he hit .537 with 65 stolen bases. In basketball, he averaged 23.6 points and 4.4 blocks per game. He finished his football career with nine interceptions and six kickoff returns for touchdowns. He went to Oregon State University where he was a Baseball America first-team All-American and Pac-10 Conference Co-Player of the year, with Trevor Crowe. In 2002, he played collegiate summer baseball with the Bend Elks of the West Coast League. In 2004, he played collegiate summer baseball with the Falmouth Commodores of the Cape Cod Baseball League. He was drafted in the first round of the 2005 MLB draft by the Boston Red Sox as a compensation pick from the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim for the signing of Orlando Cabrera.
Ellsbury began his professional career on July 14, 2005, with the Lowell Spinners in the Class A-Short Season New York–Penn League. On September 7, he tied a Lowell team record with three stolen bases in a single game. For the 2005 season, he batted .317 with 23 stolen bases in 35 games. Ellsbury began the 2006 season ranked by Baseball America as the sixth-best prospect in the Red Sox' organization. He started the season with the Wilmington Blue Rocks of the Class A-Advanced Carolina League. On July 3, he tied a Wilmington franchise record by stealing four bases in a game. After batting .299 with 25 steals in 61 games and being named to the 2006 Carolina League All-Star team, Ellsbury was promoted to the Portland Sea Dogs of the Class AA Eastern League on July 12, 2006. Soon after his promotion to Portland, Ellsbury was named Eastern League Player of the Week for August 6–13. Ellsbury finished the season in Portland with .308 batting average and 16 steals in 50 games. The Red Sox selected him as their Minor League Defensive Player of the Year and Baserunner of the Year. The team assigned him to the Peoria Javelinas of the Arizona Fall League (AFL), an off-season developmental league for top prospects. In the AFL, Ellsbury hit .276 in 25 games. His defensive skills earned him a spot in the AFL Rising Stars All-Star game. Ellsbury participated in the Red Sox' 2007 spring training camp in Fort Myers, Florida, as a non-roster invitee and was assigned to the minor league camp on March 9. He was rated the best prospect in the Red Sox' organization and the 33rd-best prospect in baseball for 2007 by Baseball America, while Sports Illustrated ranked Ellsbury as the 43rd-best prospect in baseball. Ellsbury began the 2007 season as the starting center fielder for the Sea Dogs and was promoted to the Pawtucket Red Sox of the Class AAA International League on May 4 after batting .452 in 17 games at Portland and being named the Eastern League Player of the Month for April. He was chosen to play in the 2007 All-Star Futures Game as part of the MLB All-Star festivities at AT&T Park in San Francisco. On August 24, Ellsbury set a new consecutive-game hitting streak record for Pawtucket with 25, besting the consecutive-game mark of 19 previously shared by Dave Stapleton and Dave Berg. Ellsbury finished the season with 33 stolen bases for Pawtucket, which tied him for second in the International League. For the second consecutive season, the Red Sox selected him as their minor league Defensive Player of the Year and Baserunner of the Year.
The 2007 Baseball America Prospect Handbook compared Ellsbury to former Red Sox center fielder Johnny Damon, lauding his speed, hitting and fielding while noting his below-average throwing arm. After Coco Crisp was injured, the Red Sox purchased Ellsbury's contract and he received a call-up on June 30, in which he made his MLB debut in center field and hit ninth against the Texas Rangers at Fenway Park wearing number 46. Ellsbury is the first American Indian of Navajo descent to reach the major leagues. He recorded his first major league hit, an infield single off Robinson Tejeda, in the bottom of the third inning of that game. Ellsbury's first career stolen base came off pitcher Brandon McCarthy and catcher Gerald Laird of the Rangers on July 2. He also scored from second base in that game on a wild pitch. Johnny Pesky described the play as "the greatest single play I've ever seen in all my years in baseball". Ellsbury was optioned back to Pawtucket on July 5 after playing six games for the Red Sox. On August 17, the Red Sox recalled Ellsbury from Pawtucket for the second game of a doubleheader, in which he led off and played center field. He was optioned back to Pawtucket after the game. When major league rosters expanded to 40 players on September 1, he was a September call-up by the Red Sox. On September 2, he hit his first major league home run, a solo shot which landed in the Red Sox bullpen, in the bottom of the fourth inning off Daniel Cabrera of the Baltimore Orioles. A September 2007 article in The New York Times described him as a "cult hero" who brings "speed, improved defense, and unbridled enthusiasm." Ellsbury was named MLB's American League Rookie of the Month for September 2007. With fewer than 130 major league at-bats, he still qualified as a rookie for the 2008 season. During the 2007 postseason, with Crisp struggling, Ellsbury started in center field for Game 6 of the 2007 American League Championship Series (ALCS) against the Cleveland Indians, and started the remainder of the postseason for the Red Sox. In 11 postseason games, he hit .360 in 25 at-bats with two stolen bases. With his two doubles off Josh Fogg in the top of the third inning of Game 3 of the 2007 World Series on October 27, Ellsbury became the first rookie to hit two doubles in the same inning of a World Series game. After hitting another double, off Brian Fuentes in the eighth inning, he became the fourth rookie ever to hit three doubles in a World Series game. Ellsbury's four hits, including a single in the first inning, made him only the third rookie to ever accomplish the feat in the World Series, after Freddie Lindstrom in the 1924 World Series and Joe Garagiola in the 1946 World Series. He batted .438 with four doubles and a stolen base for the World Series. The Red Sox eventually won the World Series in a four-game sweep over the Rockies, giving Ellsbury his first career championship title.
Heading into the 2008 season, Ellsbury was ranked the 13th-best prospect in baseball by Baseball America, the 16th-best prospect by Baseball Prospectus, and the 19th-best prospect by ESPN Scouts Inc. Ellsbury hit .224, with .291 on-base percentage (OBP), and a .347 slugging percentage in 16 spring training games and started in center field on Opening Day of the 2008 Major League Baseball season against the Oakland Athletics on March 25 at the Tokyo Dome in Tokyo, Japan. Ellsbury had his first career multi-home run game against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim on April 22. Ellsbury stole 25 consecutive bases without being caught, until he was caught stealing in a game on May 18. He was two stolen bases shy of the major league record held by Tim Raines in 1979. With three stolen bases against the Baltimore Orioles on May 30, he became the first Red Sox player to steal more than two bases in a game since Jerry Remy stole four in 1980. Ellsbury stole his 32nd base of the season on June 15, breaking the Red Sox' rookie record, set 100 years earlier by Amby McConnell. He finished the season with 50 steals to lead the American League, putting him third on the list of Red Sox all-time stolen base leaders for a single season, behind Tommy Harper (54) in 1973 and Tris Speaker (52) in 1912. Ellsbury finished third in the AL Rookie of the Year voting, behind Evan Longoria of Tampa Bay and Alexei Ramírez of the Chicago White Sox. Ellsbury hit .333, with a .400 OBP and a .567 slugging percentage, and three stolen bases in the 2008 American League Division Series (ALDS), in which the Red Sox defeated the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, 3–1, in the best-of-five series. In the second inning of Game 3 of the ALDS, he hit the first three-run single in postseason history when Howie Kendrick and Torii Hunter let a pop-up fall to the ground between them. After going 0–for-14 in the first three games of the 2008 ALCS against the Tampa Bay Rays, Ellsbury was benched in favor of Crisp with only a pinch hitting at-bat in game 4. He did not play in the final three games of the series, and the Sox eventually lost the series 4–3. In 2008, Ellsbury was one of three active non-Hispanic Native American players in Major League Baseball, along with Kyle Lohse and Joba Chamberlain.
Ellsbury played his 179th straight regular-season game without an error on April 12, 2009, breaking the franchise record for outfielders held by Mike Greenwell. On April 15, with six errorless chances, Ellsbury passed Coco Crisp for most errorless total chances by a center fielder, setting a new Red Sox franchise record of 433. Ellsbury tied a major league record for outfielders with 12 putouts in a nine-inning game on May 20, tying Earl Clark of the Boston Braves, who accomplished the feat in 1929, and Lyman Bostock of the Minnesota Twins, who did it in 1977. Ellsbury's streak of errorless games ended at 232, with 554 errorless chances, when he committed an error on June 17. Ellsbury tied Tommy Harper's franchise single season record for stolen bases (54) on August 21. Ellsbury then broke the record with his 55th steal on August 25, against the Chicago White Sox. He finished the season with 70 stolen bases, the most in the American League, and he also led the league in triples with 10. He won Defensive Player of the Year in MLB.com's annual This Year in Baseball Awards 2009.
