Center Field – Jacoby Ellsbury
Jacoby Ellsbury entered the limelight in 2007 during Boston’s World Series run. He played in a mere 33 games down the stretch but slowly stole the center field role away from Coco Crisp. Ellsbury appeared in all four World Series games against the Colorado Rockies and hit a blistering .438 in the Fall Classic.
The speedy outfielder stole 50+ bases three times and shattered the single-season franchise record with 70 steals in 2009.
There didn’t appear to be much pop in his bat until his outlier 2011 campaign when Ellsbury smashed 32 home runs and drove in 105 RBI while hitting .321 with a .928 OPS. He never came close to those figures in any other season but Ellsbury earned his lone All-Star appearance and was the runner-up for the MVP.
Ellsbury’s career year was sandwiched between two injury-shortened seasons but he bounced back with one more strong campaign before leaving town. He hit .298 and led the league with 52 steals in 2013. He wrapped up that year with a solid postseason to win his second World Series ring.
Johnny Damon was given careful consideration for his role at the top of the lineup for the curse-breaking 2004 club. He was certainly a fan-favorite during his Captain Caveman days but Damon betrayed us when he signed with the Yankees in 2006.
Ellsbury followed Damon’s path by chasing the money to New York but his contract turned out to be such a disaster as injuries ruined his career that it’s hard to hold his departure against him. There’s no hard feelings with Jacoby donning pinstripes so he gets the nod over Damon.