TAMPA Jacoby Ellsbury doesnt recall the first time he saw Mookie Betts play.

But he remembers precisely when he first noticed him:

Last season Aug. 1, to be exact. Fenway Park. Eighth inning. Derek Jeter had just homered to cut the Red Sox lead to 4-2 over the Yankees when Ellsbury crushed a pitch from reliever Junichi Tazawa toward the center field triangle. Now, the former Sox center fielder knows that tract of land as well as anyone, so he was sure of the result.

Probably wouldve been a triple, Ellsbury said yesterday.

If only the center field future hadnt chosen that moment to coincide with its past.

Betts was playing in only his 11th career big league game and had been recalled earlier in the day from Triple-A Pawtucket. A natural infielder, he moved to the outfield less than three months earlier. But there he was, sprinting back to the lip of the warning track, leaping with his left arm extended as far as it went, hauling in the ball, and holding on as he crashed to the ground.

Ellsbury couldnt have done it any better.

Oh yeah, I remember that catch. It was a really nice catch, Ellsbury said at George M. Steinbrenner Field before going 1-for-3 with an RBI single against a Red Sox lineup headed by Betts, who finished with three hits in his teams 10-6 Grapefruit League win. He had to leap for that catch, make a nice adjustment. ... I dont remember if any runners were on, but it definitely took away some extra bases, thats for sure.

Said Betts: That was the one (catch) of last year that I was like, How the hell did I do that? It just happened so fast. I just remember him hitting it and the next thing Im rolling on the ground.

Funny, isnt it, how things work out? Or not.

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Mookie Betts impresses ex-Red Sox CF Jacoby Ellsbury