Yankees right fielder Nick Swisher won the American League final vote on Thursday on the heels of a major campaign that included him sending messages to many celebrities via Twitter in an attempt to receive as many votes as possible. Many Yankee teammates even joined the “Send Swish” crusade.
While Youkilis’ teammates supported him the entire way and the team website displayed graphics urging fans to vote for him, the Red Sox’ first baseman remained far less vocal than the lively Yankee outfielder. In the end, it cost him.
Did the American League final vote play out the way it should have? Probably not. But to Swisher’s credit, his self-promoting movement worked.
Swisher has 14 home runs and 48 RBIs to go along with a .298 batting average in 79 games this season. While certainly respectable numbers, they pale in comparison to those of the other candidates.
Thirty-four-year-old White Sox first baseman Paul Konerko has smashed 20 home runs, driven in 61 RBIs and has nearly an identical batting average as Swisher (.296). He also has a higher on-base percentage, slugging percentage and OPS.
Even Michael Young of the Texas Rangers would have been the more sensible choice.
In addition to his 12 home runs, Young has a higher average (.306), more RBIs (53) and 17 more hits on the season — Young has 106 to Swisher’s 89.
Youkilis, who was the runner-up in the voting, is hitting .292 with 17 home runs and 55 RBIs in 81 games. He is third in the AL in walks (51) and fourth in the league in on-base percentage (.409), while remaining healthy and continuing his usual stellar defense.
Youkilis would have been the seventh Red Sox player selected to the 2010 All-Star Game, joining Adrian Beltre, Clay Buchholz, Jon Lester, Victor Martinez, David Ortiz and Dustin Pedroia.
Red Sox Nation made its usual push in the final vote but came up just short. Unfortunately for Sox fans, not enough baseball fans overlooked the Swisher All-Star onslaught and gave Youkilis or any of the others the love they deserve.
Perhaps if Youkilis had started his own All-Star campaign, he would be joining the other six Red Sox players in Anaheim on July 13.
That’s not his style though, and at the end of the day, Youkilis chose integrity over a title, incentives and, above all, foolishness.
