Jacoby Ellsbury now believes what many veterans had warned him about before his rookie season: It's hard to prepare for the grind of a 162-game big-league season.
There were moments last year when the wear and tear of both nagging injuries and the drawn-out schedule took oversized bites out of the center fielder's game, and he learned from it. "A lot of people call it the grind of the season, and it's a lot of days in a short amount of time," said Ellsbury. "Getting hit by pitches, diving for balls, stealing bases, hitting walls -- it can take a toll over the course of a season."
The numbers for Ellsbury were rock-solid in several select areas during his 145 games played: a .280 batting average, 98 runs scored, a team-best 50 stolen bases and 38 extra-base hits during his first full season in the bigs.
But Ellsbury knows he can do better.
He also had the lowest pitches-per-plate-appearance total (3.59 pitches per plate appearance) of all Sox regulars and a .336 on-base percentage from the leadoff spot.
Those numbers are clearly begging for the fleet-footed 25-year-old to battle in the box and see more pitches -- and perhaps play a bit more "small ball" out of the top spot.
"My main thing that I learned from last year is just being able to play every single day with me diving and stealing a lot of bases," said Ellsbury, who looks as if he's packed on 5-10 pounds of muscle since last season. "I want to put my body in the best possible position to deal with the pounding."
Ellsbury will need to get on base early and often if the Sox are to reach their maximum offensive potential.
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