Jacoby Ellsbury's MLB Debut

Great to see a local kid finally make it to the major leagues, and Jacoby Ellsbury, from Madras and Oregon State University, made his debut tonight for the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park, against the Texas Rangers. Ellsbury got his call up to the parent club due to an injury to Coco Crisp.


I had the game on the TV, but as the game I was most interested in had aired earlier in the day on Fox (Mets vs. Phillies), this was the best late afternoon match-up on ExtraInnings, and so I used this as background whilst doing things around the house (I can't sit on the couch that long).



Actually had forgotten Ellsbury was with the Bosox, until I heard his name called, which brought me out to witness his first major league at-bat. Unfortunately, it's one that will be remembered for the wrong reasons, grounding out to the catcher on a check swing as the ball hits the ground in front of the plate. Jacoby freezes and just stands there, and Ranger catcher Gerald Laird quickly tags him out, obviously a rookie making a rookie mistake, but one that his teammates will probably never let him forget about (in a good way, of course, like being fined by the kangaroo court).


He did much better in his second at bat, getting an infield single on the basis of his speed, which had to delight Red Sox fans no end. Ellsbury, batting ninth, wound up the night going 1 for 4, although he never hit the ball out of the infield.


The Sox lost 5-4 after leading 4-0 early on, as Josh Beckett pitched like he did last year squandering the lead. Pinch runner Julio Lugo, running for Dustin Pedroia who had hit a two out double in the bottom of the eight, made a critical error by trying to steal third, apparently on his own initiative. It was an ugly effort, and Lugo was out by a mile, which effectively killed the Sox rally before the Rangers sent in Eric Gagne in to protect the lead in the ninth.



The Sons Of Sam Horn, a Red Sox board, had a game thread, with a few posts about Ellsbury's first AB, the relevant posts are on the bottom of page five HERE, with a separate thread related to his arrival, which is HERE.