A Final Farewell to "My Red Sox"

 by Joseph Kuykendall

Being new to the area in 2003 I hadn't quite had a favorite Red Sox player yet as I was a newly converted Orioles fan and before that, converted Yankees (shhh....don't tell anyone).  To celebrate my birthday in 2003, I took a clan of friends up to Portland to see the Sea Dogs. Later that year, my dad and uncle escorted me to my first PawSox game. I am 95% sure that I saw Kevin Youkilis play both of those places (couldn't find game results that go back that far to confirm this) so it helped me gain a liking towards him. 

I still remember sitting in the parking lot at a Home Depot and turning on the radio to hear that Youk homered for his first MLB hit in is his first MLB game. This in conjunction with witnessing him in his minor league days played a huge role in Youk being my Red Sox hero. The point of all of the above is to explain the obvious, for as long as I can remember, Youk has been my favorite Red Sox and the only one that I termed "my favorite". I'm always a sucker for new, young guys and rooting for them to be successful. To see Youkilis start his career the way he did only strengthened my attraction towards him as a player.

Although my love for him got lesser and lesser as his career went on, I still called him my favorite Red Sox when asked. His extreme drive and competitiveness parallels mine almost exactly.  Whether  it was his dripping beard or funky batting stance, something about watching him play was special for me. Hearing about his final stand at Fenway Park on the radio Sunday afternoon, brought on tons of nostalgia. All the trade rumors and clubhouse issues involving Youk didn't really make me upset, mad, or aggravated. But when Dave O'Obrien of WEEI was recollecting on what happened in the eighth inning at Fenway Park Sunday afternoon, it nearly brought me to tears remembering my once great love for my boy.

Despite the terms he left on, all of Red Sox Nation knows that Youk gave his hardest day in and day out. His sweatiness which he was infamously known for is great proof of that . He wore it all on his sleeve. So on behalf of Red Sox Nation and especially myself, thanks Kevin and best of luck with the other Sox in the Midwest. Thanks for your determination and most importantly bringing the Red Sox back to glory with the '04 and '07 seasons. Thank You.



 (Earlier in Youkilis' career when the Red Sx had converted him to a first baseman, if the All-Star game was in an NL park, Ortiz would be the Sox 1B nomination since there was no DH. I would faithfully vote for Youk in the write-in section because I thought he thoroughly deserved it.)