Versatile Youkilis is Sox' roll model

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - Two championship rings in his locker, perhaps another waiting in the on-deck circle, Kevin Youkilis is the poster child for the new-century Red Sox.

He is the model for Theo and the minions. He doesn't swing at the first pitch. He works the count relentlessly. He can play multiple positions. He puts team above self. He's a grinder. He's clutch.

And he wins.

Youkilis was a rookie when all the wonderful stuff happened in 2004. He was on the Red Sox World Series roster when life forever changed for all those who live and die with the Boston baseball experience. In those days, he looked like he was going to be a nice, everyday player. He was best known as "The Greek God of Walks" and not many fans or experts thought he would evolve into an All-Star starter . . . or a serious candidate for Most Valuable Player in the American League.

In 2008, Youk played 145 games and hit .312 with a team-leading 29 homers and 115 RBIs. He hit 43 doubles and walked 62 times. He had 52 multiple-hit games and an on-base percentage of .390. He annoyed the heck out of Joba Chamberlain and just about every other pitcher in the AL.

He also annoyed Manny Ramírez. It has been forgotten in the wake of all the other Manny stuff that happened, but Youk was the teammate Manny slapped in the dugout on the night of June 5 at Fenway. An intrusive camera captured the moment (Fenway photogs know it's a good idea to keep a lens trained on Youk), but no one had much to say about it afterward. The popular notion was that Manny was tired of Youk firing helmets every time he made an out. Apparently, that's what happens when one guy cares and another guy doesn't care. Youk kept his mouth shut after the episode.

Youkilis hit only .222 in the Division Series against the Angels, but there was no concern. Boston's cleanup man hit several balls on the screws and saved multiple runs with spectacular fielding. Vladimir Guerrero's Game 1 base-running blunder will be remembered only because Youkilis made a tremendous throw from his knees after a pop dropped behind first base. In Game 2, Youkilis seamlessly shifted to third and saved the game with a couple of plays in the ninth. There's obviously great value in this for manager Terry Francona. Imagine sending Jason Giambi or Mo Vaughn over to play third base.

Youkilis's versatility has enabled the Sox to absorb the loss of Mike Lowell (hip injury) without fear of defensive calamity.

Youkilis was 0 for 17 lifetime against Tampa Bay's James Shields coming into the Championship Series. No problem. He stung a double to right in his first at-bat Friday night (he was robbed of an RBI when the ball bounced into the stands for a ground-rule double), then singled to left off Shields in the fourth. Facing lefthander J.P. Howell with two on and one out in the eighth, he fell behind, 1 and 2, then cracked an RBI double to left. It was vintage Youk. He saw 19 pitches in four at-bats. In the five games of the 2008 playoffs, he saw 105 pitches in 24 plate appearances (4.38 per AB).

Youkilis was the first player in LCS history to have three straight three-hit games coming into the game, and he had two hits (and a homer) by the fifth inning. He got hit No. 3 the next inning, a single to center. He has a nine-game ALCS hitting streak, the only nine ALCS games he has played.

Sounding like a spokesman for Epstein, Francona, and every member of Boston's baseball ops department, Youkilis took the stage after Game 1 of the ALCS and said, "I don't think you put pressure on yourself. In this series, you're trying to win for the team. You can't put yourself above the team. You've got to go out and do the little things. You've got to move over runners. Sometimes you have to be a little bit more aggressive if there's a base open or something . . .

"You don't have to hit a grand slam, a home run every at-bat. You just got to do the little things and get the pitch count up and have that 10-pitch at-bat . . . just playing defense, running the bases well, and grinding out at-bats."

It's right out of the franchise manual: Red Sox Baseball 101. Theo likes to use the word "relentless." Youkilis at home plate is relentless. He never gives up an at-bat.

He has limited speed and may not have the body type to withstand 150 games for 10 or more seasons (though he has made himself stronger and more durable by working at Athletes' Performance Institute in Arizona). But Kevin Youkilis is a certified cult figure in Red Sox Nation.

Next time you go to a Little League game anywhere in New England, check to see how many batters are using Youk's split-grip, slide-the-top-hand-down maneuver as the pitcher delivers. It's the Full Youk, a hitting style like no other.

And it's carrying the Red Sox deep into the playoffs once again.

Dan Shaughnessy is a Globe columnist. He can be reached at dshaughnessy@globe.com.