You’d be hard-pressed to find a more beloved Boston Red Sox fan favorite in recent memory than Kevin Youkilis.
Youkilis played parts of nine seasons with the Red Sox, which included two World Series championships. He also was named to three All-Star teams during his time in Boston and finished in the top 10 in American League MVP voting twice.
A raucous “Yooouk!” chant echoed around Fenway Park every time the former Sox corner infielder stepped up to the plate, and he quickly developed a reputation as one of the hardest-working players in the big leagues. It’s for that reason, above all others, that Youkilis believes Red Sox fans fell in love with him.
“I think the people of Boston connected with me because — I joke around that I was never blue collar in the sense of the way I grew up,” Youkilis said in the latest installment of the “Sox Docs” series. “I grew up in a middle-class family. But I had a blue-collar work ethic and IÂ played the game like every single day was my last.”
In honor of all he contributed to the franchise, Youkilis will be inducted into the Red Sox Hall of Fame on Thursday.
