Portland Sea Dogs hall-of-famer, and former Boston Red Sox first baseman, Kevin Youkilis returned to Hadlock Field Tuesday night to throw out the ceremonial first pitch.
Youkilis played 94 games for the Sea Dogs back in 2003. That year, the Dogs became the Red Sox Double-A affiliates. That season, he led the Eastern League with a .487 on base percentage, earning him the nickname “Euclis, Greek God of Walks,” though he is actually Jewish.
The confusion comes from the fact that one of Youklis’ forbears moved from Romania to Greece to escape Cossack persecution about 150 years ago. According to Jewish Baseball News, while there, the ancestor changed his name from Wiener to the more local-sounding Youkilis. He eventually returned to Romania and took the Greek name with him.
It’s a good thing fate gave him that name. It provides fans the joy of shouting Yoooouuuk whenever he takes the field.
After leaving Portland, Youkilis went on to play for the Red Sox from 2004 to 2012, helping the team to two World Series titles along the way. In 2008, he set a Major League record for errorless linings at first base. His playing career ended in 2014. Now, he runs a California brew pub with his brother and does some special coaching for the Chicago Cubs.
Oh, and he’s married to Tom Brady’s sister, Julie, too.
After throwing out the first pitch, Youkilis spent an hour signing autographs, bumping fists and smiling whenever someone shouted, “Yoouuuk.”