Jacoby Ellsbury had a lot of critics in Boston prior to the 2011 season.  He was called “soft” for missing much of 2010 with a rib injury that he claimed was misdiagnosed by Red Sox team doctors, and even caught flak from teammate Kevin Youkilis in the media.  Ellsbury not only silenced his critics last year, he outhit them (I’m talking to you, Youk).  Then again, he outhit just about everyone in the American League, placing second in the AL MVP vote by leading the league in Total Bases, hitting .321 with 32 homers, 119 runs and 103 RBI.  Ellsbury swings with the same batting gloves that NY rival Alex Rodriguez wears—-the all-white Nike Diamond Elite Pro.  Though you will not find them online with this colorway (unless you want some game-used gloves signed by one of these guys), this style is very much available.

And if tearing the cover off the ball wasn’t enough, Ellsbury is one of the fastest guys in baseball.  After a little light research on our part, Ellsbury looks to be the only player in MLB history to have stolen 70+ bases in a season (2009), and also hit 30+ home runs in a season (2011).  Separate seasons of course, but Rickey Henderson, thought to be the greatest leadoff hitter/power-hitting leadoff hitter of all time, never hit 30 homeruns in a season.  With all the trotting Jacoby was doing around the bases this year, he still managed to swipe 39 bags in his Nike Air Show Elite 2 player exclusives (see below for colorway).

Ellsbury wore those earlier in the season and we found him in these later on (gotta be honest, I love ‘em both—-the Air Show Elite 2 might just be WPW’s favorite)…

Ellsbury showcased his speed and his Yankee-Killing ways in 2009…

Also, not surprisingly, Ellsbury swings a bat that we can’t get our hands on, either.  It is a Louisville Slugger U47 that you can see below.  Very long barrel, 33.5 inch, 30.5 ounce.

Here are the links:

Nike Diamond Elite Pro Batting Gloves

Nike Air Show Elite 2

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Jacoby Ellsbury’s claims in the video below that he likes to keep a glove for a few seasons because he likes a well-broken in glove.  The glove we’ve seen him playing with the last few years is a custom Rawlings model PRO JE-46 (named for him and his first number, 46).

This glove, not in production,  is nowhere to be found other than this eBay auction.  If you’ve got that kind of coin lying around, grab the one of a kind.  If not, there are very similar gloves out there that are much more affordable.  The most similar glove on the market right now is the PRO302-6JB.  The black Heart of the Hide leather and Pro H web is identical to Ellsbury’s.  The only difference is the PRO302-6JB is a Fastback®, meaning it has a single opening for your index finger, whereas Ellsbury’s glove has a conventional back—-the kind where all of your fingers are visible.

A 2011 Gold Glove Award winner, Ellsbury navigates Fenway’s “Triangle” with wreckless abandon.  When the sun is out, Ellsbury rocks the Nike Show X2 sunglasses (see below).

Ellsbury’s shades are red/grey/red with Nike’s “Grey with Orange Flash” lenses, another player exclusive for Jacoby.  The shades don’t make an appearance in the video below, but Ellsbury’s speed and aggressiveness do.

http://mlb.mlb.com/shared/video/embed/embed.html?content_id=19969459&width=400&height=224&property=mlb

Here are the links:

Nike Show X2 Sunglasses (Ellsbury’s colorway isn’t available but Nike knows what they’re doing with the regular styles, too)

Rawlings Heart of the Hide PRO302-6JB (Identical to Ellsbury’s except for Fastback® instead of Ellsbury’s conventional back)

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