Biography Age: 24 Jacoby McCabe Ellsbury was born September 11, 1983 in Madras, Oregon. Jacoby's mother, Marjorie McCabe Ellsbury is Navajo and his father, Jim Ellsbury is of German and English descent. Jacoby is officially enrolled as a member of the Colorado River Indian Tribe in Arizona. He grew up in Madras, Oregon, a small town on the east side of Mount Hood. He has three younger brothers- Matt, Tyler and Spencer. Jacoby spent a year on the Colorado River Reservation when he was 12. He is the first Native American of Navajo descent to reach the Major League. A year later, Jacoby and his family moved back to Madras where he attended Madras High School. While there he ran track, played basketball, football and baseball. Tampa Bay made an offer to draft him during his senior year, but he decided to enroll at Oregon State University instead. While at OSU I(2002- 2005), Jacoby played the outfield and was chosen: - 2003 Freshman Second Team NCAA All-American - 2004 Pac 10 Conference All-Star - 2005 Pac 10 Conference Co-Player of the Year - 2005 First Team NCAA All-American - 2005 D1 First Team All-American (ABCA) - 2005 National Defensive Player of the Year He also won numerous titles: - Pac 10 Batting Title (.406) - Set OSU career records for hits (236) and runs (168) - Set OSU single season records for hits (99) and total bases (142) - Oregon States longest hitting streak (20 games) In addition, in 2004 he played for for Falmouth of the Cape Cod League. He was named the Cape Cod League's 17th best pro prospect and the 29th best sophomore in the nation by Baseball America. On June 7, 2005 Jacoby was drafted by the Red Sox in the first round of the 2005 First Year Player Draft (23rd overall) out of Oregon State University. On July 12th he signed a $1.4 million contract with the Boston Red Sox. Jacoby began his professional career with the Red Sox Single A team the Lowell Spinners where he batted .317 with 23 stolen bases in 35 games. In 2006, Jacoby started the season as the Red Sox #6 prospect with the Single A Wilmington Blue Rocks. He batted .299 with 25 stolen bases in 61 games and tied a franchise record by stealing 4 bases in a game. He was also named to the Carolina League All-Star Team. On July 12th he was promoted to the Double A Portland Sea Dogs. He was named Eastern League Player of the Week for August 6-13. He finished the Double A season in Portland batting .308 with 16 steals in 50 games. The Red Sox selected Jacoby as their Minor League Defensive Player of the Year and Base Runner of the Year. Jacoby played on the Peoria Javelinas of the Arizona Fall League. The Arizona Fall League is an off season developmental league where players can refine and improve their skills in front scouts and team executives. He hit .276 in 25 games and was chosen as one of the Arizona Fall League's Rising Stars. In 2007, Jacoby was the #1 prospect in the Red Sox organization and was rated as the #33 prospect in baseball for 2007 by Baseball America and #43 by Sports Illustrated. He participated in the Red Sox 2007 Spring Training as a non roster invitee. Jacoby began 2007 as the starting center fielder for the Portland Sea Dogs. He batted .452 in 17 games. He was named the Eastern Player of the Month for April. On May 4th, he was promoted to the Triple A Pawtucket Red Sox. He finished the Triple A season with 33 steals in 87 games and was selected as the Defensive Player of the Year by the Red Sox for the second consecutive season. On June 30, 2007, with an injury to Coco Crisp, Jacoby received a call up to the Boston Red Sox. He was given number 46 and made his MLB debut in center field against the Texas Rangers at Fenway Park. His first major league hit came against Robinson Tejeda in the bottom of the 3rd inning. He made is first out in the top of the 4th off a fly ball from Sammy Sosa. On July 2nd, Jacoby had his first major league stolen base against the Rangers. He also scored from second base on a wild pitch. On July 5th, he was optioned back to Pawtucket after just 6 games with Boston. Jacoby was recalled for the second game of a double header on August 17th. He played center field and batted in the lead off position. He optioned back to Pawtucket after the game. On August 24th, he set a new consecutive game hitting streak record for the Pawtucket Red Sox. His hitting streak ended on August 31st at 25 games. On September 1st, when the major league rosters expand to 40 players in preparation for the playoffs, Jacoby was again called up by the Red Sox. On September 2nd, he hit his first major league home run in the bottom of the 4th inning off Daniel Cabrera of the Baltimore Orioles. He was name the American League Rookie of the Month for September. With Manny Ramirez out of the line up with an injury, Jacoby saw more playing time in September. In October 2007 Manny and Coco returned to the line up, and although Jacoby did not start, he came in as a defensive replacement. He was then selected for the playoff roster. In the first game of the series against the Angels, he went in for Manny Ramirez in the 9th inning and made a running catch in left field. He got the start in center field in Game 6 of the ALCS against the Cleveland Indians. He started every game thereafter. He hit .360 in 25 at bats and had 2 stolen bases. On October 27th, in the third inning of Game 3 of the World Series against the Colorado Rockies, Jacoby hit 2 doubles off of Josh Fogg. He is one of only two players to hit 2 doubles in the same inning of a World Series game. With his double in the 8th inning, he became one of four rookies ever to hit three doubles in a World Series game. He batted .438 with 4 doubles and a stolen base. On October 28th, the Red Sox won the World Series in a sweep of the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field in Denver, Colorado. With fewer than 130 at bats for 2007, Ellsbury will qualify as a rookie for the 2008 season. Scouting Report: Amazing athlete with a great work ethic. Ellsbury has consistently won awards for his defensive play in centerfield. He is extremely fast and knows how to run the bases (but does get picked off a little too often). Great on base ability. Gap power with the ability to leg singles into doubles and doubles into triples. Not much home run power. Projects well as a major league lead-off hitter. Doesn't slump too often because you can't turn off his blazing speed. Team leader. Lettered and excelled in five sports in high school, including football, where he could have played at a high collegiate level as a kickoff returner. However, he enjoyed baseball the most. Could stand to bulk up a little bit. Arm strength is average.
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