Kevin Youkilis Joins the Yankees
Image by Wiki Commons: Yunner
Back before the popcorn with Cameron Diaz, the revelations about performance-enhancing drugs, and the attempt to pick up a female fan’s phone number during this year’s playoffs, Alex Rodriguez made news in 2008 when he studied kabbalah alongside then-girlfriend Madonna.
Rodriguez is expected to miss the start of the season due to a hip injury, but it seems as if the Yankees’ will still have a third baseman with a history of Jewish studies on Opening Day… and this one’s actually Jewish.
Word circulated Tuesday night that the Yankees had agreed to terms with longtime rival Kevin Youkilis on a one-year contract worth $12 million. Youkilis, who hit .235 last season with 19 home runs and 60 RBI, would join the likes of Jimmie Reese, Ken Holtzman and Ron Blomberg as Jewish ballplayers to suit up for the Yankees.
Before a trade to the Chicago White Sox in June, Youkilis had played his entire Major League Baseball career for the Boston Red Sox, earning three All-Star nods, a Gold Glove and a World Series championship in 2007. He was criticized early in the season by then-Red Sox manager Bobby Valentine, but was warmly received by Red Sox fans after returning to Fenway as a member of the White Sox.
Youkilis had committed to play for Israel at the World Baseball Classic this March, but Israel’s loss to Spain in the finals of a qualifying tournament rendered that decision moot.
Youkilis joins New York Rangers forward Jeff Halpern, Mets first baseman Ike Davis and New York Knicks forward Amare Stoudemire as New York pro athletes with Jewish heritage. With three such athletes, New York matches Cleveland, home to rookie tackle Mitchell Schwartz of the Browns, forward Omri Casspi of the Cavaliers and second baseman Jason Kipnis of the Indians (whose father is Jewish). Of course, between the Indians’ second-half collapse and the Browns’ and Cavs’ homes in the basement of their respective divisions, Cleveland’s Jewish athletes haven’t had much to celebrate this year.
It’s safe to say that New York will be looking for more from Kevin Youkilis.
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning journalism this Passover.
In this age of misinformation, our work is needed like never before. We report on the news that matters most to American Jews, driven by truth, not ideology.
At a time when newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall. That means for the first time in our 126-year history, Forward journalism is free to everyone, everywhere. With an ongoing war, rising antisemitism, and a flood of disinformation that may affect the upcoming election, we believe that free and open access to Jewish journalism is imperative.
Readers like you make it all possible. Right now, we’re in the middle of our Passover Pledge Drive and we still need 300 people to step up and make a gift to sustain our trustworthy, independent journalism.
Make a gift of any size and become a Forward member today. You’ll support our mission to tell the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
Only 300 more gifts needed by April 30
