page_title: Kevin Youkilis
section_title: 2011
hierarchical_section_title: Kevin Youkilis / Major leagues (2004–2014) / Boston Red Sox / 2011
caption_attribution_description: Kevin Youkilis #20 of the Boston Red Sox celebrates with teammate Will Middlebrooks #64 after hitting a solo home run during the fourth inning against the Baltimore Orioles at Oriole Park at Camden Yards on May 22, 2012 in Baltimore, Maryland.
context_page_description: Kevin Edmund Youkilis, nicknamed "Youk", is an American former professional baseball first baseman and third baseman, who primarily played for the Boston Red Sox. A native of Cincinnati, Ohio, he was drafted by the Red Sox in 2001, after playing college baseball at the University of Cincinnati. He played in Major League Baseball for the Red Sox, the Chicago White Sox, and the New York Yankees. He is currently a special assistant to the Chicago Cubs and former Red Sox GM Theo Epstein.
  Known for his ability to get on base, while he was still a minor leaguer, Youkilis was nicknamed Euclis: The Greek God of Walks in the best-selling book, Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game. A Gold Glove Award-winning first baseman, he once held baseball's record for most consecutive errorless games at first base. He is also a three-time MLB All-Star, two-time World Series Champion, and winner of the 2008 Hank Aaron Award.
  An intense performer on the playing field, Youkilis was known for his scrappiness, grittiness, dirt-stained jerseys, home-plate collisions, and his strange batting stance. He excelled despite a physique that led many observers to underestimate his athletic ability.
context_section_description: During the offseason the Red Sox acquired All-Star first baseman Adrián González, and with the imminent departure of Adrián Beltré, Youkilis agreed to the make the switch back to third base.
  In 2011, Youkilis was again named to Sporting News' list of the 50 greatest current players in baseball, ranking No. 35 on the list. A panel of 21 MLB executives was polled to arrive at the list.
  Youkilis was named a reserve for the 82nd All-Star Game. At the All-Star break, he was 3rd in the league in doubles (26), 4th in on-base percentage (.399), 6th in RBIs (63), 7th in OPS (.911), and 9th in walks (49). For the season, he led all AL third basemen in fielding percentage, at .967. However, he batted only .258, his lowest MLB season average of his career.
  The Red Sox suffered a collapse late in the 2011 season, losing their playoff positioning. A source among the Red Sox claimed that Josh Beckett, Jon Lester, and John Lackey spent games they did not pitch in the clubhouse eating fried chicken and drinking beer; some Red Sox teammates speculated that Youkilis was the source of this information, alienating him from his teammates.
caption: Youkilis being congratulated by Will Middlebrooks
exif: {"Image ImageDescription": "Red Sox at Orioles May 22, 2012", "Image Make": "Canon", "Image Model": "Canon EOS-1D Mark IV", "Image XResolution": "200", "Image YResolution": "200", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Image Software": "Adobe Photoshop Camera Raw 7.0 (Macintosh)", "Image DateTime": "2012:05:23 00:55:36", "Image Artist": "Keith Allison", "Image ExifOffset": "288", "Thumbnail Compression": "JPEG (old-style)", "Thumbnail XResolution": "72", "Thumbnail YResolution": "72", "Thumbnail ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormat": "882", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormatLength": "15961", "EXIF ExposureTime": "1/800", "EXIF FNumber": "4", "EXIF ExposureProgram": "Manual", "EXIF ISOSpeedRatings": "1250", "EXIF ExifVersion": "0230", "EXIF DateTimeOriginal": "2012:05:22 20:12:53", "EXIF DateTimeDigitized": "2012:05:22 20:12:53", "EXIF ShutterSpeedValue": "602741/62500", "EXIF ApertureValue": "4", "EXIF ExposureBiasValue": "0", "EXIF MaxApertureValue": "4", "EXIF MeteringMode": "Pattern", "EXIF Flash": "Flash did not fire", "EXIF FocalLength": "420", "EXIF SubSecTimeOriginal": "60", "EXIF SubSecTimeDigitized": "60", "EXIF FocalPlaneXResolution": "163200/43", "EXIF FocalPlaneYResolution": "816000/209", "EXIF FocalPlaneResolutionUnit": "2", "EXIF CustomRendered": "Normal", "EXIF ExposureMode": "Manual Exposure", "EXIF WhiteBalance": "Auto", "EXIF SceneCaptureType": "Standard", "EXIF BodySerialNumber": "520400447", "EXIF LensSpecification": "[420, 420, 0/0, 0/0]", "EXIF LensModel": "EF300mm f/2.8L IS USM +1.4x"}