The exciting youngster adds to his growing legend with a spectacular grab in last night's game.
Can you give a brother a hand? Ellsbury asks for assistance after his sliding catch sent him hurtling into the Boston bullpen seats
You may have noticed I didn't mention Jacoby Ellsbury's highlight-reel catch in my post about last night's 8-1 Sox win over the D-Rays.
That's because the more I thought about the 5th inning grab, in which Ellsbury started in straightaway left, motored all the way to the Sox bullpen area in foul territory, caught the ball as he stumbled over the mound, then crashed into the bullpen chairs and skidded just short of the outfield wall, the more I realized that play was going to need a post of its own.
The 24-year old Navajo American has been drawing comparisons to Grady Sizemore and Judas Demon for his hitting ability, basepath savviness and fearlessness in the field, and that unbridled willingness to sacrifice his body in order to make the play has been on full display in the three weeks since his recall from the PawSox.
Whether it's banging into the scoreboard on the Monster, crashing face-first into the outfield wall in Camden Yards, or what he did last night at the Trop, it's that trait more than any other that has helped endear him to the Nation quicker than any other home-grown player (farm system-wise) since Nomar.
The the fact that he's hit safely in 16 of 17 games for a robust .381 (24-63) average with 9 extra base hits, 13 runs scored , and 7 steals (in seven attempts) since his callup also might have something to do with it, and we can't disregard his movie-star good looks, as my wife calls him a "hot-hot-hottie", which enables him to instantly capture the all-important pink hat demographic.
But the Nation reveres blue-collar type players who lay it all on the line and are willing to sacrifice their body for the good of the team, a-la Trot Nixon, and this kid has proven that he falls into that mode.
So without further adieu, here is a breakdown of the catch. Sorry for the graininess, but the speed of the play combined with an SD signal made for some pretty blurry pix.
It all began with a harmless foul pop...
That's because the more I thought about the 5th inning grab, in which Ellsbury started in straightaway left, motored all the way to the Sox bullpen area in foul territory, caught the ball as he stumbled over the mound, then crashed into the bullpen chairs and skidded just short of the outfield wall, the more I realized that play was going to need a post of its own.
The 24-year old Navajo American has been drawing comparisons to Grady Sizemore and Judas Demon for his hitting ability, basepath savviness and fearlessness in the field, and that unbridled willingness to sacrifice his body in order to make the play has been on full display in the three weeks since his recall from the PawSox.
Whether it's banging into the scoreboard on the Monster, crashing face-first into the outfield wall in Camden Yards, or what he did last night at the Trop, it's that trait more than any other that has helped endear him to the Nation quicker than any other home-grown player (farm system-wise) since Nomar.
The the fact that he's hit safely in 16 of 17 games for a robust .381 (24-63) average with 9 extra base hits, 13 runs scored , and 7 steals (in seven attempts) since his callup also might have something to do with it, and we can't disregard his movie-star good looks, as my wife calls him a "hot-hot-hottie", which enables him to instantly capture the all-important pink hat demographic.
But the Nation reveres blue-collar type players who lay it all on the line and are willing to sacrifice their body for the good of the team, a-la Trot Nixon, and this kid has proven that he falls into that mode.
So without further adieu, here is a breakdown of the catch. Sorry for the graininess, but the speed of the play combined with an SD signal made for some pretty blurry pix.
It all began with a harmless foul pop...
...Jacoby started out all the way over in left field...
...then raced to the sidelines in pursuit of Greg Norton's foul pop...
...right when he hit the bullpen mound...
..he simultaneously caught the ball and tripped on the elevated dirt...
...causing Ellsbury to slide into the metal chairs...
...and come to a crashing halt at the base of the left field wall And just like that a legend is born.
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