Cap tip, Al Doran, Al’s Fastball.
Jeff Ellsworth has pursued his passion for ball with grit and success
Playing ball has brought Jeff Ellsworth great joy and plenty of pain, often both at the same time.
The 34-year-old solidly built softball player has played hurt, at times really hurt, in pursuit of triumph on the field.
There was the groin injury that left a large portion of one leg purple that failed to keep Ellsworth from stepping up to the plate or from covering centre field.
He played an entire tournament with a broken finger set in a splint that left his middle digit extended skyward, allowing him the luxury of providing unspoken assessment on any perceived bad call.
Ellsworth has tallied at least seven concussions that he is aware of: four coming from hockey and three from ball, including one resulting from a wayward pitch that split his helmet in two.
Today when he sneezes, he sees stars.
Yet, he notes with a sense of jock bravado, “I’ll play through anything.’’
At about eight or nine, Ellsworth started playing pick-up games of baseball with a dozen or so guys for hours and hours at a stretch. He was given the freedom to remain glued to a ball diamond as long as his homework was done.
“It was a lot of hours,’’ he recalls fondly. “I remember going home with blisters on my hands, going through a glove a summer.’’
He soon signed up for organized softball, splitting his defensive talents between shortstop and outfield. The adrenaline of competition stoked his intensity right from the start.
“I just loved to win from the get go,’’ he said. “I did not like to lose at all.’’
He went on to win a great deal over the years with his most recent victory coming earlier this month at the Pan American Championship in Medellin, Columbia.
Ellsworth was not only the captain of Canada’s softball team that took home gold, but he delivered the decisive blow with a two-run home run in the first inning of a 4-1 win in the championship game.