FORT MYERS, Fla. – When the Red Sox talked to Jacoby Ellsbury about moving to left field for the 2010 season, the team wanted to make clear to the 26-year-old that it wasn’t a demotion.

The move reflected less on Ellsbury’s abilities in center, the team said, than on his prior performance (in both 2007 and 2008) playing left, and on new outfielder Mike Cameron’s comfort in center. The idea of shifting Ellsbury to left was not a knock on his defensive abilities.

But while Ellsbury and Boston might see it that way, the baseball industry as a whole would appear to have other ideas. That notion is encapsulated simply by this simple fact: no left fielder has been awarded a Gold Glove in the American League since Rickey Henderson snapped up the honor in 1981.

Though surprised by that fact, Ellsbury also understood the logic of it.

“I’m sure that since ’81, there have been some guys who can play a little left field,” said Ellsbury. “But typically, [Gold Gloves] go to your center fielder, and rightfully so. They’ve got to cover a lot more ground. I feel like they can be involved in a lot more plays.”

It may simply be a matter of neglect. As Ellsbury points out, there have been tremendous defensive left fielders. Carl Crawford is exceptional at the position, yet has never been given a Gold Glove award despite what most consider game-changing defense. He is not alone in having been overlooked at the position.

Center fielders are known for the highlight reel catches. Right fielders are viewed as game changers because of their arms. Left fielders, meanwhile, are typically typecast as the position players whose range and arms weren’t good enough for those more heralded positions. The absence of Rawlings-delivered hardware is a likely consequence.

“Centerfielders, you see them covering more ground, making more plays,” said Sox bench coach DeMarlo Hale, who had coached Boston’s outfielders for the prior four season. “The right fielders, maybe because they’re pretty good defenders and they have the types of arms that can change the game. You don’t run on Ichiro. You don’t run on certain guys with reputations. It affects how the third-base coach makes decisions.

“I think the reason why the Golds are in center and right is because of those things.”

Yet just because American League left fielders have been shut out of Gold Glove awards for nearly 30 years, it doesn’t mean that defenders can’t make an impact from that position. Both Hale and Ellsbury note that a player who can cover the ground of a center fielder while occupying left can impact significantly the amount of outfield lawn that gets covered.

As a left-handed defender, Ellsbury may be able to get to balls down the left field line with greater ease. At the same time, because he has what Hale describes as plus range (a notion that is endorsed by multiple scouts who watched him play the corners in parts of 2007 and 2008), he can provide greater coverage in the gap in left-center.

As such, ith Ellsbury in left, the Sox are likely to be able to shade both center fielder Cameron a bit more towards right-center to help J.D. Drew cover the massive expanse of real estate in right. That, the team hopes, will make for fewer balls dropping for hits. It is a subtle yet significant way in which a left fielder can impact a game defensively.

“With a left fielder who can cover a lot of ground, it can push everybody over, just like a good center fielder can push everybody over,” Ellsbury explained. “Cam can play a little more right, and push me and J.D. over a little bit more, let us play a little closer to the line. It compacts everything a little bit more.”

That is how Ellsbury is viewing his new station on the field. He does not take the positional shift as a slap in the face. Nor did he view the Sox’ request that he move out of center field to be an endorsement of some of the defensive metrics (like UZR and Plus/Minus) that described Ellsbury as having been below-average as a center fielder in 2009.

“I’m not losing any sleep over [those statistics],” Ellsbury chuckled. “I’m all in favor of stuff like that, but it’s so hard to be accurate.

“I haven’t really looked into it, but from what I understand, a deep fly ball into right field, if it’s sky high, that’s looked at as the same amount of range as a line drive that’s caught. How do you break that down?

“To me, it really can’t be accurately measured. What’s the difference with shifting? If you just take a diagram, if the strategy for the team is to play deep or play shallow, how does that factor? There are a lot of things that factor.

“What happens if it hits the Monster? It’s only X amount of feet, but you’re saying that another outfielder would have caught that ball. Well, I couldn’t because there’s a 50-foot Wall right there. How do you judge that?

“Maybe over time, they can take some of the kinks out of it.  But for now, in my opinion, I don’t think it’s very accurate.”

Hale suggested that Ellsbury’s below-average defensive numbers might have reflected, in part, on the young center fielder’s deference to veteran teammates in the corner outfield positions. In that light, it is worth mentioning that Drew had two of the best three defensive seasons of his career as measured by UZR per 150 games in 2008 and 2009, with Ellsbury as the Sox’ primary center fielder.

In contrast to the portrayal of an outfielder with below-average numbers in 2009, Hale suggested that Ellsbury has the ability to excel at any of the three outfield positions. The Sox’ bench coach believes that Ellsbury has the necessary range and athleticism to claim the game’s highest defensive honor.

“Absolutely. Yes he does [have the ability to win a Gold Glove],” said Hale. “I think he’s capable of winning a Gold in either center or left. I really do.”

While the Sox believe that Ellsbury will eventually return to center, in 2010, any Gold Glove candidacy would have to be primarily on the strength of his work in left field. That obviously presents a formidable challenge for Ellsbury.

Yet the idea of trying to reverse almost 30 years of neglect for a position in the eyes of those who vote for the Gold Glove has plenty of appeal to the 26-year-old.

“I think I’m blessed with athletic ability – speed, the ability to read balls, that possibly one day [it could happen],” said Ellsbury. “I think it’d be pretty neat [to win one as a left fielder]. You’d obviously be in some elite company. Rickey Henderson, any time you throw his name around, it means you’re doing something pretty special on the field.”