Boston Red Sox: 10 Ways Kevin Youkilis Is Their Most Important Player in 2011
Adrian Gonzalez is the new big name in town, Carl Crawford is the high-profile free agent signing and Jon Lester is an early Cy Young favorite. Not one of these players is the key to Boston's success next season.
No, that honor belongs to Kevin Youkilis, the big, burly right-handed slugger who enters his eighth professional season with the Red Sox. See what the Red Sox will be counting on him for in 2011 and what might happen if he doesn't deliver.
A Big Bat
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Youkilis is one of only two baseball players to have posted an OPS of at least .900 in each of the last three seasons. The other is a man by the name of Albert Pujols.
For perspective, Vladimir Guerrero hasn't had an OPS over .900 since 2007 and Adrian Gonzalez has only done it twice in his career. That's pretty select company.
Youkilis doesn't have the elite power of some of the other sluggers he's often compared against, but he's always doing something productive with the bat. His .394 career on-base percentage is 11th among active players and only Pujols, Manny Ramirez and Joe Mauer can boast higher on-base marks than Youkilis over the last two seasons.
He may only have one season of at least 100 RBI's on his resume, but he's created at least 100 runs in four of seven seasons and would've done it five years straight if he didn't go down with an injury last season. If you look beyond the sexy stats, then Youkilis is undoubtedly one of the best hitters in the game.
If He Doesn't Hit
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The Red Sox have enough other big bats that they could make it through an extended Youkilis slump. The only problem is that they're all left-handed.
Between Gonzalez, Crawford, David Ortiz, Jacoby Ellsbury and JD Drew, there's a lot of left-handed bats in the Red Sox lineup. Youkilis and Dustin Pedroia are the only impact right-handed bats, and there are few if any options off the bench or in the minors (Mike Cameron?) that can step in and pick up the slack.
The AL East features several great lefties, including C.C. Sabathia and David Price, so opposing teams will be able pound Red Sox hitters inside. Youkilis is one of the only guys in the lineup who can make them pay for it. He has a huge responsibility to deliver sandwiched between two left-handed hitters (probably Ortiz and Gonzalez).
A Solid Glove
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Youkilis rarely gets the credit he deserves for fielding his position, but he's still among the best defenders in the league. He won a Gold Glove in 2007 and in six seasons at first base has committed only 13 errors, briefly holding the record for most consecutive chances without an error until Casey Kotchman shattered it.
Youkilis will be moving over to third base next season, the position he played when he first came up with the Red Sox, but he's no slouch at third either. He has a career .966 fielding percentage at the hot corner and has spent time at third each season in his career.
He's no Adrian Beltre, but he should at least be able to give Alex Rodriguez a run for his money.
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If He Doesn't Field
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No reason why Youkilis shouldn't be a good defender at third base, but he's never started more than 56 games at the position so anything is possible.
Red Sox pitchers loved having Beltre gobble up line drives to left side and didn't have to worry about right-handed hitters pulling the ball. If Youkilis lets by one too many then the starting pitchers may have to change the way they attack hitters.
Position Flexibility
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Youkilis is one of those few players that will do whatever his team asks, and do it well. He played a handful of games in left field in 2007 when Manny Ramirez was on hiatus and filled in right field for a couple games in 2008 when JD Drew went down with an injury.
He's never been asked to play second base or shortstop, but odds are he could probably do that competently as well.
Youkilis will spend most of 2011 at third base, but will get a few starts at first base when the Red Sox want to rest Gonzalez against a left-handed pitcher. It wouldn't be a surprise to see him used as an emergency reserve outfielder either.
With Bill Hall gone, the Red Sox don't really have anyone who can play all over the field, so Youkilis is probably the best option right now.
If He Doesn't...Flex?
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The Red Sox will keep Youkilis at third base as much as possible, but odds are he'll be called upon to do something unusual at some point next season.
Marco Scutaro is a good utility player, but he's not a strong enough hitter to warrant consistent playing time. Lars Anderson can play first base in a pinch, but he's not ready for the major leagues just yet. Jed Lowrie is also an option, but he's likely to take over as the starting shortstop.
This is not a team that is particularly well protected against injuries, so not having Youkilis on the roster would be a major blow.
Clutch Hitting
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Youkilis isn't just a good hitter, he's a timely hitter too.
He barely saw any playing time during Boston's 2004 World Series run, but he was other-worldly in 2007. He batted .500 with three home runs in the ALCS against the Cleveland Indians and he has a career .944 OPS in the postseason (.891 regular season).
He batted .362 with runners in scoring position in 2009, and .374 in 2008. He's also one of the most patient hitters in baseball, seeing an average of 4.31 pitches/at-bat and wearing down opposing pitchers.
He's one of the most productive hitters in baseball and, more often than not, he delivers when his team needs him.
If He Isn't Clutch
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The Red Sox have plenty of other hitters capable of stepping up at a big moment, including Ortiz, Pedroia, Gonzalez and Crawford. But none of them have the familiarity with AL pitching that Youkilis does.
Who would you rather have facing Mariano Rivera in the bottom of the ninth inning? A somewhat washed up Ortiz? A middle infielder whose career OPS is just .830? A slugger who has never faced Rivera? Or Youkilis?
Thought so.
Veteran Leadership
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Jason Varitek and Tim Wakefield may be the tenured members of the Red Sox (assuming they even make the team), but Youkilis is the veteran leader.
He's been in a Boston uniform since 2004 and has spent his entire career in the Red Sox system since being drafted in 2001. Pedroia and Lester each have five seasons under their belt and Jon Papelbon has six. Ortiz has spent seven seasons in a Red Sox uniform, but as a borderline platoon player he doesn't really have the authority to call the shots.
Youkilis does, and he's not afraid to to speak out. He called out Ellsbury last season for not being with the team while rehabbing his injury, and he called out Manny Ramirez for, well, being Manny Ramirez. Pedroia is the spark plug, but Youkilis is the the stabilizing clubhouse presence keeping everyone in check.
If He Doesn't Lead
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The Red Sox have completely rebuilt their team the past few seasons and welcome several new faces into Boston in 2011. Gonzalez and Crawford are both low-key guys and won't cause trouble in the clubhouse. But the same can't be said for hotheads like Bobby Jenks.
There are a lot of internal battles that will stir up controversy during the season (Lowrie vs. Scutaro, Bard vs. Jenks vs. Papelbon), and it will be up to Youkilis to keep everyone on the same page and committed towards the same goal.
If he doesn't take charge of the team then this very talented group of players runs the risk of not even qualifying for the playoffs, a disaster the likes of which Theo Epstein may never recover from. The team is literally in Youkilis' hands.
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