Jacoby Ellsbury, David Ortiz: "It Takes a Team"

In sports, legend has had it for centuries that it takes a team to win a championship. And for the Boston Red Sox in the 2007 season, there was no exception. One of the biggest 1-2 punches in the Major Leagues, besides Chase Utley and Ryan Howard of the Philadelphia Phillies helped contribute to a long-awaited-for World Series Championship. They’re named Jacoby Ellsbury and David Ortiz.

The “Five Tools of Baseball” are the five elements that define a baseball player. These five keys are running speed, batting for average, batting for power, arm strength, and fielding. In 2007, the Boston Red Sox put together a lineup that was unstoppable in almost every one of those five categories. Jacoby Ellsbury and Ortiz have two very different tasks, if you will, in baseball: Jacoby is the speedster with all the fielding and contact hitting, and David is the man with all the power at the plate and a positive attitude that boosts the Red Sox’s morale. There is a sixth tool that can go almost unnoticed at times, and that is the “Clutch Factor.” Both of these machines can come up big for the club, and might put a dozen or so more “W’s” on your record.

Jacoby Ellsbury is the kind of athlete anybody would want on their team. With a quick first step in the outfield, he is almost unstoppable, if it’s possible. Batters may get a solid hit in the small gap in center field at Fenway Park in Boston, and may be thinking triple out of the batter’s box. Ellsbury always has different ideas. He sprints to the ball, and hurls the ball to the cut-off man to keep the batter at second base and not third. In the postseason, in 2007, Ellsbury became the designated starter in center field with Coco Crisp struggling at the plate starting in Game Six of the American League Championship Series. In 11 games in the postseason, he hit .360 in 25 at-bats and two stolen bases. In the World Series, he turned it up a notch, hitting .438 with four doubles and a stolen base. He made outstanding plays in the outfield that saved runs, which led to their second World Series victory in three years. The Red Sox swept the Colorado Rockies in four games (4-0).

Since that 2007 postseason where he shined, Jacoby has polished his skills to the point where he is getting voted annually to the All Star team for the American League. The New York Times described him as a “cult hero” and one who brings “speed, improved defense, and unbridled enthusiasm.” He hit .280 in the regular season for the Red Sox and led the AL in stolen bases with 50, a Red Sox record. He never made an error the entire 2008 season, an almost unheard of feat for an outfielder. But, in the postseason, his hot feet and quick bat froze right in their tracks. In the first round of the playoffs, he hit .333 with three stolen bases in four games. In the ALCS, he went stone cold, failed to get a single base hit in 14 attempts, with no stolen bases. The Red Sox were eliminated by the Tampa Bay Rays.

In 2009, Ellsbury set the standard, rocketing through skyscrapers: he hit .301 with 188 hits, and robbing 70 bases. Once again, in the postseason, he got cold getting four hits and hitting .250. The Red Sox were eliminated in four games.

So what does Jacoby Ellsbury have to do with David Ortiz sitting in the three spot in the lineup? He sets the tone for the rest of the lineup. With Jacoby’s speed and Dustin Pedroia at the plate, that forces the pitcher to throw fastballs to ensure that Ellsbury won’t try to steal a bag. So if Pedroia gets a hit, that sends Jacoby to third at least and sets David Ortiz to the plate. How do you pitch to David Ortiz in this situation?

Ortiz is a pull hitter, and a mighty good one at that, so he’ll hit balls into right field probably more than anybody in the entire Major Leagues. That forces the defense to adjust their infield to shift to the right side: the first baseman guards the foul line, the second baseman is deep (in infielder’s terms) in shallow right field. The shortstop is directly behind second base about 15 feet, and the third baseman plays at the generic shortstop position. Ortiz could lay down a bunt and put a run on the board with Jacoby’s speed, but he isn’t a good bunter. He’ll swing every time… for the fences.

In 2007, with a more powerful bat as a designated hitter and runners on base, Ortiz played all season despite a torn meniscus in his right knee. He finished the regular season hitting .332 with 35 home runs and 117 runs batted in (RBI). In the postseason, he continued his destination of success with a .370 batting average and three homeruns with 10 RBI. He also hit two walk-off homeruns to help win a few games for the Sox. That gave Jacoby close to 6 of his 20 runs.

In 2008, he hit the rock bottom of his career, hitting .264 with 23 homeruns and 89 RBI. His wrist had been bothering him all season long, and it affected his play. In 2009, he dug deeper to get into a bigger grave. He hit .238 with 28 homeruns and 99 RBI. In July and August, he hit a groove where he consistently was able to hit Jacoby home for a RBI. He suddenly stopped succeeding in the playoffs and, like Ellsbury, took a step into the freezer. With only one hit in the playoffs, he was unable to contribute to his team’s play.

Ellsbury and Ortiz have become a rather large 1-2 punch around MLB. With Jacoby’s hitting ability to get on base, that forces Ortiz to get fastballs, which are what he’s good at driving out of the park. Without Ellsbury’s threat to the opposition, Ortiz finds it much more difficult to get a pitch he can handle. Jacoby is the cornerstone of the lineup: if he fails, the rest of the team may follow.

Jacoby Ellsbury and David Ortiz have created a force that nobody in baseball can stop when they’re clicking. With Jacoby’s threat of speed and hustle, Ortiz is a nightmare for those who dare to throw to him. With this duo, they’ve won a couple World Series together, and are hungry for more. Both of them just might say, “It takes a team.”