Jacoby Ellsbury
Jacoby McCabe Ellsbury (/dʒəˈkoʊbi/ 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.
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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.[1]
Early life[edit]
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.[2] He was raised in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.[3]
Ellsbury is an enrolled member of the Colorado River Indian Tribes.[4] 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.[5] Jim Ellsbury is of English and German descent.[6]
In Little League, Ellsbury often played with teammates up to three years older than him.[7] At Madras High School, he lettered in five sports.[3] 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.[8] In 2004, he played collegiate summer baseball with the Falmouth Commodores of the Cape Cod Baseball League.[9][10] 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.[11]
Professional career[edit]
Minor leagues[edit]
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.[12]
Ellsbury began the 2006 season ranked by Baseball America as the sixth-best prospect in the Red Sox' organization.[13] 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.[14] 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.[15] Soon after his promotion to Portland, Ellsbury was named Eastern League Player of the Week for August 6–13.[16] 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.[17] 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.[18]
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.[19] He was rated the best prospect in the Red Sox' organization[20] and the 33rd-best prospect in baseball for 2007 by Baseball America,[21] while Sports Illustrated ranked Ellsbury as the 43rd-best prospect in baseball.[22] 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.[23] 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.[24] 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.[25]
Ellsbury finished the season with 33 stolen bases for Pawtucket, which tied him for second in the International League.[12] For the second consecutive season, the Red Sox selected him as their minor league Defensive Player of the Year and Baserunner of the Year.[26]
Personal life[edit]
Ellsbury was raised as a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, but he and his three brothers stopped attending services when Jacoby was a teenager; as reported in The Boston Globe in 2008, Ellsbury said, "I try not to get [God] too involved in baseball. What I wish for is good health."[110]
Ellsbury was one of the victims of the $8 billion fraud perpetrated by wealth manager Allen Stanford;[111] although he had some assets frozen, it did not cause him any significant hardship akin to those suffered by Johnny Damon and Xavier Nady.[112]
Ellsbury and Kelsey Hawkins married in December 2012,[113] and they have four children.
In 2010, Ellsbury released a Zinfandel wine called ZinfandEllsbury through Charity Wines, with 100% of his proceeds donated among three charities: The Navajo Relief Fund, Project Bread: The Walk for Hunger, and Ellsbury Read Project. The wine launched alongside a charity wine by former Boston Red Sox teammate Josh Beckett, called Chardon-K.[114]
In June 2014, Ellsbury donated $1 million to his alma mater Oregon State University as part of a $3 million renovation project at Goss Stadium. The Beavers' new home locker room was named the Jacoby Ellsbury Locker Room in his honor.[115][116]