Jacoby Ellsbury has been a picture of contrast in a pair of different spots in the Sox’ lineup this season. Entering last night, he had batted a passable .250 in 16 at-bats out of the leadoff spot and struggled with a .167 batting average in 12 at-bats out of the eight-hole.
MLB. Johnny Damon remembers the first time he caught a glimpse of Jacoby Ellsbury.
Ellsbury had just been drafted by the Red Sox in 2005 after an All-American career at Oregon State and was visiting Fenway Park while hashing out contract details with the Sox.
In fine “Idiot” fashion, some of Damon’s teammates — no doubt led by Kevin Millar — began ribbing Damon, telling the leadoff man his “replacement” had arrived just as the free-spirited center fielder was entering his free-agent year.
“I think I even went up to Jacoby and told him, ‘[The center-field job] is yours, come and get it,’ thinking that it would either be his job [in a couple of years] or that I would kind of show him the ropes,” Damon said. “He’s fast, and he looks like he’s got a pretty good swing for a young guy. As long as he can stay healthy and understand his role with the team, he’ll be very good.”
Damon went on to explain the exact role he played as leadoff man in a Boston offense that scored over 900 runs in each season from 2003-05.
“The job is to get on base and make the job for the big guys coming up that much easier,” Damon said. “Wear the pitcher down before they get to [David] Ortiz and Manny [Ramirez] because those are the guys that can do the real damage.”
While Ellsbury still has a long way to go before he has racked up the All-Star credentials and refined hitting style that allowed Damon to excel, the 24-year-old rookie admits getting a little charge out of seeing his name leading things off on Boston’s lineup card.
Ellsbury has been a leadoff guy for his entire life and has geared his offensive skills toward working pitch counts, getting on base and putting pressure on an opposing team’s defense with his pure, unadulterated speed.
“Leading things off is what I’ve been used to most of my career,” Ellsbury said. “I’ve been there basically for my whole life, so naturally, that’s where I would be most comfortable. That’s my spot.”