As the Boston Red Sox wrapped up their series against the Cleveland Indians Thursday evening, a interesting little tidbit about centerfielder Jacoby Ellsbury and the 2005 MLB Draft emerged.
ESPN Boston's Gordon Edes tweeted during Thursday evening's game that Ellsbury, who won Tuesday and Wednesday's games for the Red Sox with walk-off home runs, nearly was drafted by the Cleveland Indians in the 2005 MLB Draft. The Indians had the 14th overall pick that year, and considered selecting Ellsbury in that spot. Said Edes via Twitter:
"The Indians came so close to drafting Ellsbury, they asked how he felt about the "Chief Wahoo" team symbol."
Ellsbury is the first player of Navajo decent to make it to the big leagues, and is one of the very few players of Native American decent currently playing in the majors. Edes did mention later on Twitter that he did not know what Ellsbury had told the powers-that-be in Cleveland about the topic.
Cleveland ended up deciding against Ellsbury, and picked up centerfielder Trevor Crowe instead. The Red Sox picked up Ellsbury with the 23rd overall pick. Crowe has spent this entire season on the disabled list for Cleveland after rotator cuff surgery. Ellsbury had an injury plagued 2010, but has 18 home runs on the 2011 season and is receiving accolades from all over for his offensive output.