So Long Jake and Thanks for All the Steak

This Article is written by columnist and resident Redsox fan “stev-o”Big Stevie Lew.Editor’s Note: Apologies to Douglas Adams for the bastardization of the title of his fourth Hitchhiker’s Guide book.

Jacoby Ellsbury will be leading off and starting in center field for the New York Yankees on opening day this upcoming season. Those are hard words to comprehend as a Red Sox fan. Then you look at the contract that he was offered and signed (7 years, $153 million, with an option for an 8th that would increase the total to $169) and you scratch your head. Is that the going rate for a centerfielder these days? Maybe it is, or maybe the Yankees and their fans will one day look back at this signing as another feather in the Yankees cap and as another disappointing waste of money. I don’t think so. Ellsbury first got some burn with the Sox in 2007, and officially took over in center in 2008 (ironically, also the last season the Yankees did not make the postseason.) While he wasn’t perfect and did seem to get hurt a lot, most times it was because he was going hard into a wall while chasing down a fly ball. That seemed to go against this idea that he was “soft”, which is something he had been accused of in the past. At the end of the day, with Ellsbury in center and leading off, the Red Sox were able to win two World Series rings. He is arguably one of the top three current outfielders as far as covering ground goes.

Ellsbury was also able to dodge the media spotlight while in Boston, and remains relatively private. He’s married to the lovely Kelsey Hawkins, so you won’t see him out and about with Derek Jeter and his bevy of babes. He also is very even tempered, and comes off as a very likable guy during interviews. He is the first MLB player of Navajo descent and was raised in a family that belonged to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons). In 2009, my cousin (a diehard Red Sox fan) invited my father and I to join he and his father (my uncle) up in Boston for the Patriots Day game and the afternoon game before it. The Red Sox were playing the Orioles and Ellsbury had just completed his first full season as a Red Sox centerfielder. He was slowly turning into a fan favorite. His speed on the base path and in the outfield really struck a chord with the Red Sox faithful. The game the day before Patriots Day started around 3 or 4 PM, if I recall correctly, so the game was done by 7 or so. We stopped back at our hotel to shower up before us 4 guys went out to the best steakhouse in Boston, Abe & Louie’s.

My cousin is by far the most talented and successful of anyone in our family, so he is doing very well for himself. He had his people call ahead and make the reservations for us, so we had prime seating in the main dining room. Now I love a steak, but I can rarely afford one, so believe me, just entering a steakhouse a smelling those delicious seared meats is a treat. To actually be  treated like a VIP was over the top. My second favorite moment from the night (which on any other night would the best moment) was how the waiter looked at my father funny when he answered the question “Who are you going to split the Porter House for two with?” with the one word answer, “myself”, and how the waiter totally lost it when my uncle did the same thing right after. The guy broke out of his stoic steakhouse professional mode and sort of cracked. He claimed the only other time he had seen two people at one table order individual porterhouses for two was when he waited on a New England Patriots lineman’s bachelor party.

My cousin and I really got a kick out of that. I will never forget that meal. Not only because we started off with a seafood tower (hot and cold) and hammered down slabs of meat with delicious sides, all the while drinking red wine and scotch, but also because, just as we finished our steak, in walks Jacoby Ellsbury. He was with a friend and two chicks, and had obviously done the same as us (showered up after the game and hit the town up for a nice dinner). Now, the way that we were sitting in the dining room, I was the only one facing the main entrance and saw him coming our way, led by the maitre d, unbeknownst to the rest of our party.

So in an attempt to be coy about the whole situation, I tried to say to the whole table, under my breath, “Nobody look, but Jacoby Ellsbury just sat down at the booth right next to us.” Immediately, my father, my uncle and my cousin, drop their forks and shoot a glance over at the same time (hey, I guess “smoothness” might not be genetic). In all honesty, we were all sort of star struck. We had just watched him hit a clutch go ahead double that evening, and were looking forward to our first Patriots Day game. My cousin had gotten us seats right next to the Red Sox dugout, which really makes you feel right in the action (something you can’t say about these modern day ball parks, especially the new Yankee stadium.) So as we nursed our post-dinner scotches, my cousin gets the idea to call the Maitre D over and ask him if it’s ok if we offer the Ellsbury table a bottle of wine, or a round of drinks since we are big fans. My cousin goes as far to recommend a bottle of “Lewis Estates” wine, which is pretty rare, so it’s not the kind of wine that’s priced to sell, if you catch my drift. The restaurant does their thing, and I’m the only one who can see the tables reaction, which was surprise at first, then the waiter pointed over to our table to indicate where it came from. Ellsbury got up and I could tell he was coming our way, so I jumped up and stuck my hand out for a handshake and broke the ice. He hung for a few minutes and BS’d with us. I remember him being surprised that we were Red Sox fans from New York, and my father and uncle got to tell him how grandpa was a US Marine and loved Ted WIlliams, and how it trickled down to my cousin and myself.

So after a really pleasant exchange, Jake goes back to his table and we get our bill (well, my cousin got the bill). We all were anxious to see what wine bottle, or what kind of drinks he and his table were drinking. To our surprise, Jacoby ordered the cheapest bottle of wine on the menu. Granted, the cheapest wine at Abe & Louie’s is better than the best wine at most places, but still. He could have ordered any bottle, my cousin had suggested one for about 200 bucks, instead he humbly chose the cheapest one, as to not run up my cousin’s tab, but also not turn down a gift.

From that moment on, my family became huge Ellsbury supporters. My parents even named their dog Jake after him. I refuse to call the dog Jake while Ellsbury plays for the Yankees (which will be at least 7 years…so, that dog better get used to the name Drake). But I honestly wish him all the best with his new team. He definitely did his job for us, and there was no way in hell the Red Sox would have matched that offer. Let’s see what Jackie Bradley Jr. can do. I’d love to see him try to mirror Ellsbury’s career path and make a name for himself while winning a few rings. If anything, it just spices up the rivalry that much more. And that is always a good thing.

Steve-O

Below is an actual photo of Steve