A pudgy 25-year old named Kevin Youkilis made his major league debut in 2004, having made waves a year earlier for being the posterchild for Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game. In his first game on May 15 in Toronto, Youkilis cranked a home run for his first major league hit off Pat Hentgen. As he came to the bench after the home run, the Sox ignored him as if nothing had happened. Catching on to the hazing ritual, Youkilis grinned and high-fived the air, pretending people were there for him. It's one of the feel-good stories of the season the Sox would eventually break their curse in.
Due to injury, Youkilis amassed 208 at-bats that season, hitting for a .780 OPS which remains a career low. The following year, he spent much of the year in Triple-A although he did see 79 at-bats in the bigs. 2006 is when Youkilis stepped in as a starter, moving over from his natural position of third base to first.
January 9, 2010
evan brunell
