Jacoby Ellsbury now believes what many veterans had warned him about prior to his rookie season.

There’s nothing else in sports that compares to the grind of a 162 game big league season.

There were moments last year that the wear and tear of both nagging injuries and the overwhelming grind took oversized bites out of the centerfielder’s game, and he’s well aware of it.

“A lot of people call it the grind of the season, and it’s a lot of days in a short amount of time,” said Ellsbury. “Getting hit by pitches, diving for balls, stealing bases, hitting walls; it can take a toll over the course of a season.”

The numbers for Ellsbury were rock-solid in several select areas during his 145 games played: a .280 batting average, 98 runs scored, a team-best 50 stolen bases and 38 extra base hits during his first full season in the Bigs.

But Ellsbury knows he can do better.

He also finished with the lowest pitchers per plate appearance total (3.59 pitches per plate appearance) of all Sox regulars and a "needs improvement" .336 on base percentage from the leadoff spot. Those particular numbers are clearly begging for the fleet-footed 25-year-old to battle in the box and somehow either see more pitches or foul more offerings off -- and perhaps play a bit more “small ball” out of the top spot.

“My main thing that I learned from last year is just being able to play every single day with me diving and stealing a lot of bases,” said Ellsbury, who looks as if he’s packed on 5-10 pounds of muscle in his upper body since last season. “I want to put my body in the best possible position to deal with the pounding.”

The second-year player will need to get on base early and often if the Sox are to reach their maximum offensive potential, and if Ellsbury is to reach his sky-high potential as a premier table-setter. 

Here's a brief Q&A with the 25-year-old outfielder about what he learned from last season, and some of the adjustments he'll be making heading into a pivotal second full season with the Red Sox.:

What were you working on in the offseason?
JE: My main thing that I noticed from last year was being able to play every day. With me diving and stealing bases, I really put my body in a position where I can play every day and withstand the pounding that I take diving and stealing.

How would you describe that pounding that your body takes over that 162 game season?
JE: A lot of people would say a grind…the grind of the season. It’s a lot of days in a short amount of time, but it’s just something that you’ll get some unforeseen things: you’ll get hit by pitches and that sort of thing, you’ll go crashing into the fence and diving for balls. It can take a toll over the course of the season, and I just wanted to get in the weight room and prepare my body for it.

Was getting physically stronger a real focus as well, or is that kind of thing just a byproduct of getting older and your body maturing?
JE: For me it was more preventative and it was more about preserving my body than gaining strength. I wanted to preserve the speed, and to give that up for strength didn’t make a lot of sense to me. It was all preventative.

Offensively, what did you learn about yourself last and what you need to do to have success going forward?
JE: For me it’s all about getting on base. I got on base and did some good things: I scored 100 runs, which is very good. But I just want to continue getting better than that and swing the bat. Everybody will go through times in the year when you’re not swinging the bat that well, but they still find ways to get on base and that’s something I want do more of.

When you went through some of those moments where you weren’t swinging the bat that well, how much of that was due to injury?
JE: I don’t like to make excuses, but when I dove for the ball in the outfield that comes to mind, but I don’t want to make excuses at all. It lingered and it was one of those things where you don’t have any time to rest and take two or three weeks off to let it rest. Even then it might not have felt completely right after two or three weeks of rest either. I played through it. It’s feeling good right now, though, so…

Taking pitches, bunting a bit more…what do you have to do get on base more than you did last season?
JE: Good at bats. People talk about walks, but if they’re not throwing you balls then it’s hard to take your own walk. Guys that are fast, they’re going to throw a lot of strikes at you and they’re not going to want to put you on. As a leadoff hitter, (pitchers) don’t just want to put you on. So when people talk to me about getting my walks up, I’m like well you don’t want to be too lackadaisical in an at bat and then you’re down 0-2 and you’re battling for your life.

So for me it’s about just having good at bats with a good approach, and everything else will take care of itself.

Did you notice any patterns or anything pitchers were really focusing on with you?
JE: Last year I think for me it was a thing where I wanted to walk more and they were just throwing me strikes. And I would find myself down in the count and I was battling 0-1 and 0-2. I just want to stay aggressive out of that leadoff spot. Sometimes that would come out of trying to have a good AB and see some more pitches. But if they’re not throwing you balls, you can’t do much about that.