Jacoby Ellsbury stuns Rays with straight steal of home
Age and injuries have limited Jacoby Ellsbury’s base-stealing ability somewhat since joining the New York Yankees in 2014. Make no mistake about it though, he still has the ability to change a game with his speed and his baserunning savvy, and that’s exactly what he did on Friday night.
[Join a Yahoo Daily Fantasy Baseball contest now]
In the fifth inning of New York’s 6-3 win over against the Tampa Bay Rays, Ellsbury executed what few baserunners would have the wherewithal or courage to even try by pulling off a straight steal of home plate.
The 32-year-old outfielder knows how to pick his spots. When he saw Rays left-hander Matt Moore go into the windup, he knew he had a chance because he knew that would slow Moore’s delivery to the plate. He just had to time it correctly.
A slight jump or even a slight hesitation could have allowed Moore to step off and possibly throw him out. As it was, Ellsbury timed it and executed it flawlessly.
[Elsewhere: Chris Colabello to work with Frank Mir to fight PED suspension?]
Not that we should be surprised, because Ellsbury is no stranger to the straight steal of home. He actually pulled it off once against the Yankees as a member of the Boston Red Sox in 2009. That famously came during a Sunday Night Baseball game against another lefty, Andy Pettitte.
In pulling off Friday’s steal, Ellsbury also rewrote this footnote in Yankees history.
Good thing for Derek Jeter he still has a couple other things to hang his hat on.
As for Ellsbury’s steal, it came at a key point in the game. When he touched home, he was the tying run. Ellsbury also contributed a big two-run double in the eighth inning that sealed New York’s victory.
More MLB coverage from Yahoo Sports:
– – – – – – –
Mark Townsend is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Townie813
