Madras celebrates Red Sox star's return

Madras celebrates Red Sox star's return

Boston Red Sox rookie Jacoby Ellsbury waves to the crowd during a parade thrown in his honor in Madras on Saturday.

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Story Published: Nov 17, 2007 at 8:44 PM PDT

Story Updated: Nov 18, 2007 at 2:06 PM PDT

By Katy Brown and Associated Press

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MADRAS, Ore. (AP) - Boston Red Sox rookie Jacoby Ellsbury came home to a hero's welcome in this central Oregon town Saturday after a fairytale season that saw him rise from Double-A to World Series champion.

Ellsbury is believed to be the first Navajo to play major league baseball, but was born and raised in Madras where his mother, Marjorie Ellsbury, moved from Arizona to become a special education teacher for the nearby Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs.

Ellsbury's parents and three brothers still live there. Having him back made Madras feel like a major league city - at least for a day.

The sun broke out just long enough for Ellsbury to sit on the back deck of a black Corvette convertible for a parade through town, where the sidewalks were packed with cheering fans.

"This is about ready to put tears in my eyes," Ellsbury told KATU News during the parade. "This is awesome. To see a lot of familiar faces, you know everybody who's supported me all through the years. This is a dream come true right here."

The celebration ended in the gym where he was a high school basketball star.

Drafted by the Red Sox in the first round in 2005 out of Oregon State University, Ellsbury started 2007 with Double-A Portland, Maine, and moved up to Triple-A Pawtucket, Rhode Island, before being called up to Boston in June. 

(Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

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