Jacoby Ellsbury

He came up with ‘ZinfandEllsbury,’ a Zinfandel wine, via ‘Charity Wines’ in 2010, the entire proceeds of which were donated to the charities ‘Ellsbury Read Project,’ ‘Project Bread: The Walk for Hunger,’ and ‘The Navajo Relief Fund.’

In December 2012, he married Kelsey Hawkins. The couple has two children.

He was born on September 11, 1983, in Madras, Oregon, US, to Jim and Margie Ellsbury. He was the eldest of their four children. His father was of English and German descent and worked as a forester for the ‘Bureau of Indian Affairs.’ His mother, a full-blooded Navajo, was a descendent of the 19th-century tribal leader Granado Mucho.

His family relocated from the ‘Warm Springs Indian Reservation’ to Madras, Oregon, when he was in kindergarten. He and his siblings grew up as members of ‘The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormon).’ However, the brothers, including Jacoby, ceased to attend services when the latter was in his teens.

Young Jacoby, like his other brothers, was into sports. He played baseball, basketball, and football. He was the fastest runner and best jumper among the siblings.

He got enrolled at the ‘Madras High School’ in 1998, where he eventually lettered in five sports. He played ‘Little League’ baseball, with teammates who were much older to him. He hit .537 with 65 stolen bases during his senior year in baseball and ended his football career with nine interceptions and six kickoff returns for touchdowns. He had an average of 23.6 points and 4.4 blocks per game in basketball.

He did not sign with the ‘Tampa Bay Devil Rays’ who included him in the 23rd round of the 2002 ‘MLB’ draft and instead, went on to ‘Oregon State University,’ where he played college baseball for three years.

The 2005 ‘MLB’ draft saw him being included by the ‘Boston Red Sox’ in the 1st round as 23rd overall. He turned professional on July 14 that year, playing with the ‘Lowell Spinners,’ a ‘Boston Red Sox’- affiliated ‘Class A-Short-Season’ minor league baseball team, during the ‘New York–Penn League.’ He garnered three stolen bases in a game on September 7, 2005, and with that, tied an earlier record of the ‘Lowell Spinners.’

Moving on, he played in other minor league baseball teams affiliated to the ‘Boston Red Sox,’ such as the ‘Wilmington Blue Rocks’ of the ‘Class A-Advanced Carolina League,’ the ‘Portland Sea Dogs’ of the ‘Class AA Eastern League,’ and the ‘Pawtucket Red Sox’ of the ‘Class AAA International League.’

During his stint with the ‘Portland Sea Dogs,’ after he garnered a batting average of .400 with one home run as also safely hit in seven consecutive games, he was named the ‘Eastern League Player of the Week’ for the week August 6 to13, 2006.

He was chosen by the ‘Boston Red Sox’ as their ‘Minor League Defensive Player of the Year’ and the ‘Baserunner of the Year’ in both seasons 2006 and 2007.

He made his ‘MLB’ debut in center field on June 30, 2007, for the ‘Boston Red Sox,’ thereby becoming the first Native American of Navajo descent to have played in the major leagues. Following six games on July 5 that year, he was optioned back to the ‘Pawtucket Red Sox.’