Youkilis: It was phenomenal from my standpoint. THT: What was it like for you being in the minor leagues and getting mentioned in a best-selling book? It was pretty interesting to get the fan’s perspective of how a general manager thinks. But I read a lot of it, and read about some of the guys I had played against and seen. Read about half the book and get sidetracked. My dad read it and gave it to me, and I read probably halfway through it. It might have been my dad or my agent that called me and said, “You know, you’re all over this book and Moneyball is out on newsstands now and it’s becoming like a big book that people are buying.” THT: How did you hear that you had been mentioned in that book? Being up there in the major leagues, you’re always going to get picked on, but when you have something like that to add to it, it just adds to the fire. It’s definitely just fun to have that, and a lot of guys use it. It’s brought a lot more ragging and stuff by teammates.

They’re kind of like, “Don’t you know who that is?” Youkilis: Yeah, a lot of teammates and a lot of friends have joked about it and had a lot of fun with it, any time you get a walk or something, or just joking around about little things here or there. THT: Have you been teased much by friends and teammates because of the nickname Billy Beane gave you? (Note: Youkilis was recalled by the Red Sox on Saturday, and he went 4-for-8 with a double, two walks and three RBIs over the weekend.) Before the game, Ben had a chance to chat with Youkilis about “Moneyball” and his time with the Red Sox. In 2004, Youkilis reached the major leagues for the first time and helped the Boston Red Sox win the World Series.īack in the minor leagues, Youkilis and the Pawtucket Red Sox were in Rochester to play the Red Wings at 11 a.m. Kevin Youkilis gained national recognition when Oakland general manager Billy Beane dubbed him the Greek God of Walks in Michael Lewis’ bestselling book “Moneyball” in 2003.

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