Jacoby Ellsbury received exactly the kind of welcome most Red Sox-turned-Yankees do upon returning to Fenway Park.
Ellsbury was booed during the introductions of the starting lineups pregame, and he was booed even more when he led off the top of the first. He was booed when he tripled in that frame and booed again when he robbed Grady Sizemore of a hit in the bottom of the first.
Ellsbury did earn some cheers between the first and second, when the Red Sox played a video tribute to the outfielder’s seven major-league seasons with the organization to Bruce Springsteen’s “Born to Run.”
Before the game, Ellsbury wasn’t concerned too much about the possibility he’d be greeted negatively.
“It’s something I’m not going to worry about because it’s out of my hands,” Ellsbury said pregame. “I gave the organization everything I had for nine years. I played as hard as I could. I appreciated the fans and the support they’ve given me over the years.”
Ellsbury said the passion of the Fenway faithful, which he stirred with his migration to New York, is one of the reasons he enjoyed playing for the Red Sox.
“They always felt like a home-field advantage. You always felt they were pulling for you,” said Ellsbury. “Last year how they pulled for the team, for us to come together, we wanted to do it for the city — the passion they have for the game, the love of the game.”
The center fielder has been anticipating this trip back to Boston for some time.
“I have friends and family here. I was looking forward to it,” he said. “I was looking forward to coming to the ballpark, seeing people I’ve said hello to for nine years. That’s the thing you miss the most, is the people, especially with the team and Boston.”
There’s also the insight Ellsbury might have about his former teammates.
“I feel like I kind of knew what their game plan was going to be, maybe what they were thinking a little bit, maybe some of the guys’ approach,” Ellsbury said of the teams’ first meeting this season in New York. “So it was a game within the game, where I really felt like I understood that team.”
It will once again be a battle for the Red Sox to keep Ellsbury off the bases.
“He’s been a little disruptive through the first four games against us,” manager John Farrell said, “and that’s where our focus is: How do we contain him?”
Comments are closed.