Oct. 13, 2011

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CORVALLIS, Ore. - Former Oregon State outfielder and current Boston center fielder Jacoby Ellsbury became the first former Beaver to be honored with a major end-of-season award at the major league level on Thursday. He was named the 2011 American League Comeback Player of the Year.

He had one of the most impressive seasons in Boston history, becoming the first Red Sox player to ever finish with at least 30 home runs and 30 stolen bases in the same season - he had 32 and 39, respectively. He also finished with a .321 batting average, 105 RBI, 46 doubles, five triples and 119 runs. He also led the major leagues with 364 total bases and 83 extra-base hits.

In addition, Ellsbury became the fourth player in Major League history to reach 200 hits, 100 RBI, 35 steals and 30 homers in a single season, joining Vladimir Guerrero and Alfonso Soriano (2002) and Alex Rodriguez (1998).

The season came just one year after Ellsbury played just 18 games in an injury-marred campaign.

"I know what I'm capable of doing. I know everybody has been surprised by the power numbers, but it's always been there," Ellsbury told MLB.com. "It just hasn't translated to the game, but every year I've consistently gotten better. This is kind of what I was looking for last year."

Ellsbury is expected to be one of the main candidates for the 2011 AL Most Valuable Player Award, which should be announced in the next couple weeks.

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