SubscribeMazel tov, Kevin Youkilis
The Boston Red Sox third baseman was selected as the American League recipient of the Hank Aaron Award, emblematic of the most outstanding offensive performance of the season.
The fan-voted honor is named for Aaron, who broke Babe Ruth’s career home run mark in 1974 and retired with 755 dingers. Fans cast 230,000 for Youkilis, who put up one of the most impressive seasons by a Jewish Major Leaguer, comparable to Shawn Green and Hank Greenberg.
From MLB.com:
Youkilis set career highs with a .312 batting average to rank sixth in the AL, 168 hits, 43 doubles, and club-high totals of 29 home runs and 115 RBIs, good for fourth in the AL.
He averaged an RBI per every 4.7 at-bats, the best ratio in the AL, and also batted .374 with runners in scoring position. His .569 slugging percentage ranked third in the AL, his 76 extra-base hits were fourth and his .390 on-base percentage was sixth.
The versatile corner infielder collected 16 home runs and 62 RBIs in his final 61 games of the 2008 regular season. The 29-year-old Youkilis posted at least 15 RBIs in each month this season, highlighted by an August in which he had a .351 batting average, six home runs and 24 RBIs.
A first-time All-Star in 2008, Youkilis started at first base in the Midsummer Classic at Yankee Stadium.
“Well, I don’t think I can ever compare myself to Hank Aaron in any way,” Youkilis said. “I’ll never see myself in that level. So to win this award, I don’t know, I’m a little humbled by it. But it’s great just to be able to have an award that’s named after somebody that exemplified so much in this game and has brought so much history to this game. It’s an honor just to be named in the same sentence. So for me, I’m thrilled.”
The Hank Aaron Award was created in 1999, the first major new honor by MLB in more than 25 years.
As we discussed in another venue, Youkilis was a better MVP choice than Pedroia, and should have won the award.
One minor quibble – when mentioning all-time great seasons by Jewish hitters, have to put Al Rosen in there as well, especially his 1953 near-Triple Crown, unanimous AL MVP campaign.