It might sound cliche to say that Jacoby Ellsbury hit the ground running once he joined the Red Sox organization, but that may be the most apt description.
In his first professional at-bat for the Lowell Spinners in 2005, Ellsbury drew a walk and then wasted no time exhibiting the speed that would change that game and eventually transform the organization. He stole second, moved to third on a bad throw and came home on a wild pitch.
It was the first hint that the Oregon State product, drafted by the Red Sox in the first round that year, would have no issues adjusting to the professional game. He would hit .317 and steal 23 bases in 35 games for the Spinners and then have another outstanding season in 2006, which he split between high Single-A Wilmington and Double-A Portland.
After batting .308 with 16 stolen bases and three home runs in 50 games for Portland that year, one could make a case that the budding star, then 23, would’ve been a prime candidate to move up the ladder to Pawtucket. Yet by starting 2007 with the Sea Dogs, Ellsbury was able to give a few more people a chance to be part of a phenomenal whirlwind campaign that deserved several stops, just so that its legend could be retold in more than one city.
“It was just almost a joke,” said current Pawtucket and former Portland manager Arnie Beyeler, Ellsbury’s skipper during an otherworldly start to that season. “It was, OK, how many hits is Ells going to get tonight? How many bases is he going to steal? How many hits is he going to take away?
“It was really a dominating performance, but it wasn’t someone who was walking around the clubhouse with his chest out. He punched in, day in day out. That was him.”
It was the beginning of a season of seasons for Ellsbury. He would finish it basking in autumnal glory but began it stuck in a gym in Maine, playing Wiffle ball and beating his peers in sprints across the floor while snow enveloped the Portland area.
The weather prevented the Sea Dogs from playing ball for the first week or so of the season. It was enough to cause the ill-prepared to go stir-crazy. Ellsbury used that time to get better, and when it finally came time to play outside again, nobody could hang with him.
In 17 games at Portland before it was nearly impossible for the organization not to promote him, Ellsbury hit .452 with 13 RBIs and eight steals. Much of it was accomplished in soggy, cold conditions that had others struggling to get going.
“With those conditions, it was crazy. He was just playing like he was a man amongst boys,” Beyeler said. “When we started out that year in the league, it was almost like he didn’t mean anything by it. He was just like, well this is what I was sent down here to do and I’m going to do this and I’m gonna get out of here.”
That’s exactly what Ellsbury did, earning a trip to Triple-A Pawtucket, where the train kept rolling. He played well enough to earn a midseason promotion to the majors, hitting .375 in a quick six-game stint, and then returning to Pawtucket, where he would engineer a 25-game hitting streak in August. It simply didn’t matter where or when Ellsbury played; he just raked. And when he was a September call-up and got a chance to spend the final month with a World Series-bound team, the youngster may have been the best player on the roster. Not Manny Ramirez. Not David Ortiz. Not Kevin Youkilis. Not Dustin Pedroia.
No, it was the kid who started the season playing Wiffle ball in a gym in Maine that helped carry the Sox to the finish line, batting .361 with 17 RBIs and eight stolen bases (in eight attempts) in 26 games in September. Not only did Ellsbury do plenty to earn two promotions during the 2007 season, he seemed to be getting better with the competition.
“It wasn’t surprising from that standpoint [that he was talented], but it was just surprising to see a guy continue to rise like that and almost have a whole season without really having that down period,” Beyeler said, adding that the foundation was laid during those Portland blizzards.
Once Ellsbury took the campaign to new heights by going 6-for-17 in the World Series sweep of Colorado, it was clear where he belonged. There would be no more sprints across gym floors, bus rides to second-rate cities or six-game flirtations with the major leagues. However, there would also be intense expectations.
Check back Thursday for more on Ellsbury’s rise to stardom in Boston, including a look at his 2008 and 2009 seasons.
