Red Sox outfielder Jacoby Ellsbury
Years with Red Sox: 2007-2013 (715 games)
HOFm score: 36
Jacoby Ellsbury made an immediate impact when he was called up to join the Red Sox in 2007. He hit .353 in 33 games and emerged as the team’s primary center fielder during their postseason run that resulted in a World Series title. Ellsbury hit a scorching .438 in the Fall Classic against the Colorado Rockies.
In his first full season in the big leagues, Ellbury used his blazing speed to lead the league with 50 stolen bases. The following year, he set the single-season franchise record with 70 steals while also leading the league with 10 triples. Ellsbury’s 241 steals in a Red Sox uniform rank third in franchise history despite that he only spent seven seasons in Boston.
2011 was a career year for Ellsbury. He hit .321 with a .928 OPS, 32 home runs, 105 RBI and 39 steals. He was named an All-Star, won a Gold Glove and Silver Slugger award, while finishing as the runner-up in the AL MVP race.
That year would prove to be an outlier, at least in the power department. Ellsbury never hit more than 16 homers in any other season and his total was in the single-digits in nine of his 11 seasons.
Once a fan-favorite in Boston, Red Sox Nation turned on Ellsbury when he bolted to sign a lucrative free-agent deal with the Yankees. While fans were initially stung about his betrayal, the bitterness faded when injuries and a rapid decline in production turned Ellsbury’s deal with the Yankees into an albatross. The Red Sox dodged a bullet by refusing to outbid their rivals.
A young Ellsbury might have had a case for being on a Hall of Fame trajectory with his elite speed and emerging power. Injuries sapped some of his speed when he reached his early-30s and he wasn’t able to sustain the power he flashed during his All-Star campaign. An inability to stay healthy and a peak that wasn’t long enough takes Ellsbury out of serious consideration for Cooperstown.