If you type the words “Kevin Youkilis” into Ebay what you’ll find is a serious demand for one of the most beloved and appreciated Red Sox players in recent memory.
There are signed jerseys, balls and baseball cards all going for hundreds of dollars; creating zero doubt to any knowledgeable baseball fans head regarding not only Youkilis’s talent, but also his extreme work ethic and intensity that has helped him mold a remarkable career.
In today’s Boston Globe, Youkilis had some choice words for the fans who fill up Fenway Park and peer down at their adored team night in and night out.
We know he was heavily sought out by Oakland Athletics General Manager Billy Beane thanks to Michael Lewis’s “Moneyball”, but besides that blip of a collegiate career, nobody in their right mind saw him becoming the most versatile player in the game. Throughout his six-year career he’s played first base, third base, right field and left field. Naming another major leaguer who has defensively accomplished more will certainly press even the most involved fan.
In the 2001 Major League Baseball Draft, 242 players were deemed more valuable to the 30 teams shaping their farm systems and ultimate future. Youkilis was selected in the 8th round; nine years later he’s arguably the most valuable player in the American League.
In 2007, he willingly moved from third to first base, making room for eventual World Series MVP Mike Lowell to play his natural position. Instead of complaining to his manager or whining to the press, Youkilis trotted out each and every hot summer night, eventually finishing the season as the only player in baseball who didn’t commit a single error. With that came a Gold Glove award and a reputation as one of baseball’s rising stars.
The next year Youkilis picked up where he left off. He started in the All-Star game and finished behind only teammate Dustin Pedroia and Justin Morneau in the Most Valuable Player race.
This season has been a relatively trying one for the Red Sox. Heading in, Boston had the best pitching staff, the reigning MVP, and a rejuvenated, dangerous lineup. Thanks to some unexpected injuries, the team has been through more downs than its fan base has expected. Most recently with the complete failures of John Smoltz and Brad Penny, the near summer long slump of Jason Bay and David Ortiz’s steroid scandal and .220 batting average. In Youkilis’s case, his numbers are moderately down from last year, but not to any concerning degree and he’s remained one of the most hated players in all of baseball. He’s been hit 12 times this season, which puts him among the American League leaders, and against the Detroit Tigers he charged the mound after being hit in the side in the second inning.
Today the Cincinnati native added to the commotion by bashing the fan base as a whole and going to an unexpected place of disgruntlement. As one of the most popular players on one of the most supported teams in all of professional sports, Youkilis’s comments come off as mildly ridiculous. While they weren’t specific enough to completely understand what’s exactly going on in his head, they will certainly strike a nerve with the fans that have tirelessly come to Fenway Park over the past six seasons and wildly cheered on one of the hardest workers in baseball.
Reading the article, his words seem unfair and badly chosen. If Kevin Youkilis didn’t know Boston was a city defined by its somewhat obsessive sports fans by now, then he’s more naïve than he looks, but that most likely is not the case here.
Overall he’s shown to be not only a first class player but also a model citizen. His vigorous charity contribution in the community hasn’t gone unnoticed and there are dozens upon dozens of stories involving Youkilis that will warm the coldest heart.
He vented during a pennant race in what hopefully won’t be what Boston’s loyal fans remember every time the 30-year-old takes a third strike or pops out to deep center.
Kevin Youkilis is a vital member of the Boston Red Sox for this season and the next few to come. Today he made the first of what hopefully amounts to a sole mistake in his words with the press.
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