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r
P3ge 8
August 24, 2011
Spily^y Tyrnoo, Warm Springs,Oregon
Catching up with Jacoby Ellsbury at Safeco Field
B y W ill Robbins
f o r the Spilyay
V tlie n the Boston Red Sox
come to the Pacific Northwest,
it’s a big deal. One reason is that
Red Sox Nation is alive and well
in the Pacific Northwest; an
other is, Jacoby Ellsbury!
Mariners fans might even be
confused at times when Boston’s
fans seem louder than their own
during home games in Seatde.
Such was the case earlier this
month when the Red Sox came
to Safeco Field.
Since becom ing a profes
sional baseball player, Jacoby
Ellsbury has accomplished a lot,
and the road he traveled to get
there is impressive.
E llsbury attended Madras
High School, where he was a 4-
year letterman in football and
baseball, and played varsity bas
ketball his sophomore through
senior years.
Ellsbury’s high school career
batting average o f .567, and
being caught stealing only once,
are Oregon hgh school state
records.
Ellsbury was first drafted by
the Tampa Bay Devil Rays in
the 23rd round o f the 2002
MLB Draft but did not sign. He
was then drafted 23rd overall
by Boston in 2005, after three
years at Oregon State Univer
sity.
f
Ellsbury began his profes
sional career in 2005, with the
Lowell Spinners in the short sea
son Single-A New York-Penn
L eague. B efore the season
ended he tied a Lowell team
record with three stolen bases
in a game. He finished the sea
son batting .317 with 23 stolen
bases in 35 games.
Ellsbury was named Red Sox
Minor League Base Stealer of
the Month for July 2005, when
he went a perfect 9-for-9 in sto
len base attempts.
In 2006 Jacoby Ellsbury be
Will Robbins photos
Ellsbury ion deck at Safeco, and in the dugout.
gan the season as the number
six prospect in the Red Sox or
ganization. He played with the
Single-A Wilmington Blue Rocks
of the Carolina League, and fin
ished the Double-A season in
Portland, Maine, batting .308
with 16 steals in 50 games. He
was selected by the Red Sox as
their minor league Defensive
Player o f the Year and Base
Runner of the Year.
Ellsbury was invited to the
Red Sox 2007 spring training
camp in Fort Myers, Florida, as
a non-roster invitee. He was as
signed to the minor league camp
where he was rated the number
one prospect in the Red Sox
organization, and the number 33
prospect in baseball for 2007 by
Baseball America and the num
ber 43 prospect by Sports Illu s
trated.
The New York T im es de
scribed him in a Septem ber
2007 article as a “cult hero” who
brings “speed, improved de
fense, and unbridled enthusi
asm.
In June of 2007 Ellsbury got
a taste of what it would be like
playing at Fenway park. With an
injury to Coco Crisp, Ellsbury
had his contract purchased and
received a call-up to the Red Sox
on Ju ne 30, 2007, where he
made his MLB debut in center
field and hit ninth against the
Texas Rangers at Fenway Park.
During the 2007 postseason,
with Coco Crisp struggling,
Ellsbury got the start in center
field for Game 6 of the Ameri
can League Championship Se
ries against the Cleveland Indi
ans, starting every subsequent
postseason game. In eleven to
tal postseason games, he hit .360
in 25 at-bats with two stolen
bases.
Ellsbury was lifted to almost
legendary status... On October
27, with his perform ance in
Game 3 of the World Series, he
became the first rookie to hit
For the World Series, he bat
ted .438 with four doubles and
a stolen base.
After the 2007 World Series
Ellsbury continued to set records
and collect accolades. In 2008
he was voted Red Sox rookie of
the year, and in 2008 and 2009
he received the Red Sox Heart
and Hustle award.
In 2009 he was selected as
MLB’s defensive player of the
year by MLB.com, and in 2011
was selected for the American
League All Star team and has
been the talk o f the M ajor
League Baseball Writers Associa
tion ... He might even have a
shot at an MVP award.
To date Ellsbury this season
has 33 stolen bases and 22 home
runs. He recently tied legendary
B oston
sp eed ster
Carl
Yastrzem ski for most stolen
bases in his career at 168. With
his MLB baseball career just
underway, it seems that record
will be shattered.
In the three gam e series
against Seattle at Safeco field
August 12-14, Ellsbury proved
once again that he is not only
fast on his feet but can be a
power hitter at times. In game
two of the series he blasted a
two run homer to help his team
come close to tying the Mari
ners. But it wasn’t to be, as Se
attle w on two o f the three
games.
Jacoby Ellsbury is among a
small group of Native Ameri
cans currently involved in pro
fessional sports. He joins Joba
Chamberlain in baseball, Notah
Begay in golf, Sam Bradford and
Levi Horn in the NFL, and the
WNBA’s Tahnee Robinson.
Like many individuals of af
fluence Ellsbury is generous
when it comes to giving. In 2010
Ellsbury released a Zinfandel
wine called Z infandE llsbury
through Charity Wines with 100
percent of the proceeds donated
across three charities: The Na
vajo R e lie f Fund, P ro ject
Bread: The Walk for Hunger,
and the Ellsbury Read Project.
Everything he does is just an
other step in trying to do the
right thing.
At the current pace there
seems to be no limit as to what
he might accomplish.
Tribes seeking Head Start
Community Representative
two doubles in the same inning
of a World Series game. After
hitting another double in the
eighth inning, he became the
fourth rookie ever to hit three
doubles in a World Series game.
His 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 1924 and Joe Garagiola in
1946.
The Confederated Tribes are seeking a commu
nity representative for the Warm Springs Head Start
program, 2012 school year.
Applicants must be interested in furthering the
goals and objectives of the Head Start program.
Must attend policy council regular meetings, twice
a month.
Please send your letters of interest to:
Urbana Ross, Chief Operations Officer
Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs,
PO Box C
Warm springs OR 97761
The deadline for submission is 5 p.m. on Friday,
Sept. 2.
Head Start parents, please contact Early Child
hood Education for applications for the upcoming
school year.
WANTED
Junk cars and trucks
No-Title OK
Abandoned
Wrecked
Old
Ugly
Unused
Unwanted
Broke Down
Call
Cyle Richardson
Non-Stop Auto Recycling
541 520-0471
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Phone hours 6 a.m.-9p.m. 7 Days a Week.
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