Jacoby McCabe Ellsbury was born 11 September, 1983 in Madras, Oregon. Madras is a small town east of Mount Hood. Jacoby’s mother, Marjoirie McCabe Ellsbury, is of Navajo decent and his father, James Ellsbury, is German and English. Jacoby has three younger brothers – Matthew, Tyler and Spencer. Jacoby is an official member of Arizona’s Colorado River Tribe. He spent a year at the Colorado River Reservation when he was 12 years old.
At age 13, Jacoby Ellsbury attended Madras High School and was involved in several sports such as track, basketball, football and baseball. Ellsbury was a 674th overall 23rd round draft pick of the Tampa Bay Rays in 2002, but Ellsbury declined signing on so he could attend Oregon State University (OSU). He went to OSU from 2002 – 2005 and played outfield on the baseball team there. Ellsbury made many distinguishing achievements during his three years at OSU:
- Freshman Second Team NCAA All-American (2003)
- Pac 10 Conference All-Star (2004)
- Pac 10 Conference Co-Player of the Year (2005)
- First Team NCAA All-American (2005)
- National Defensive Player of the Year (2005)
- D1 First Team All-American (ABCA) (2005)
- Pac 10 Batting Title – 406 (2005)
Jacoby Ellsbury also had the longest hitting streak at Oregon State at 20 games. Ellsbury was drafted by the Boston Red Sox as the 23rd overall amateur pick in the 1st round in 2005. On 12 July, 2005, Ellsbury signed a 1.4 million dollar contract with the Red Sox. He was a part of the driving force that got the Boston Red Sox to the 2007 World Series. Jacoby Ellsbury is only the 3rd rookie to get 4 hits, with a 1st inning single, in the World Series.
Ellsbury’s debut in Major League Baseball occurred on 30 June, 2007 and he became the first Native American Major Leaguer. The left throwing and batting center fielder is known for his speed and high record of stolen bases. On 2 September, 2007, Jacoby hit his first home run in the Majors against the Baltimore Orioles and he became the American League Rookie of the Month. His first stolen base in the Major Leagues was against the Texas Rangers on 2 July, 2007. Jacoby Ellsbury has been compared to future Hall of Famer Tim Raines. Ellsbury’s 2007 stolen base percentage is 84.6 and this is very close to Raines’ career percentage of 84.7.
Ellsbury had a bit of a slow start to the spring 2008 season. Yet, even when his batting average got to 212 he was still put in the daily line up as the center field starter because of an injury to Coco Crisp. Ellsbury stole 2 bases in 3 different games in 2008 and on 22 April, 2008 hit two home runs in one game with one of those winning the game for the Red Sox. That win made 6 wins in a row for the Boston Red Sox. Jacoby Ellsbury missed 3 games in late April and early May 2008 due to a groin injury and then returned to the line up. |
