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With standing room only, Youkilis stands alone

E-mail|Link|Comments () Posted by Tony Massarotti, Globe Staff June 17, 2009 04:51 PM

So tonight, it occurred to me: Kevin Youkilis made his major league debut more than five years ago, and he has never played a major league home game before anything but a sellout.

"I’ve never known a difference," Youkilis said a short time ago as the Sox prepared to play the Florida Marlins in what will be the 500th consecutive sellout at Fenway Park. "Hopefully, I’ll never have to play a home game that’s not sold out. Everywhere we go, even on the road, we have a lot of fans. You never even realize how some guys play in front of no fans.’’

Indeed, the Boston clubhouse is filled with players who know what it’s like to play in empty stadiums. Jason Bay came from Pittsburgh. Mike Lowell and Josh Beckett came from Florida. Ramon Ramirez came from Kansas City. In Youkilis’s case, he has played 307 regular season home games in his career, all sellouts, the longest such streak in baseball.

Dustin Pedroia, Jacoby Ellsbury, Jonathan Papelbon, Jon Lester, Manny Delcarmen, Daisuke Matsuzaka, George Kottaras, Jed Lowrie, Daniel Bard, Justin Masterson and Hideki Okajima also have played exclusively to home sellouts during their careers, but none of them has been in the majors longer than Youkilis, who debuted on May 15, 2004.

That year also marked manager Terry Francona’s first season in Boston, meaning Francona has never managed before anything but a sellout at Fenway.

"I do probably take it for granted," Francona admitted. "I probably shouldn’t because it’s pretty special.’’

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wonders if Billy Wagner and his agent actually communicate.

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Tony Massarotti is a Globe sportswriter and has been writing about sports in Boston for the last 19 years. A lifelong Bostonian, Massarotti graduated from Waltham High School and Tufts University. He was voted the Massachusetts Sportswriter of the Year by his peers in 2000 and 2008 and has been a finalist for the award on several other occasions. This blog won a 2008 EPpy award for "Best Sports Blog".

Tony's Top 5

NFL power rankings

Broncos. OK, we’re convinced. Kyle Orton is now 26-12 in his career as a starter. Josh McDaniels looks like a real coach. And the defense is much improved.

Saints. Went into Philly and beat the Eagles, went into New York and beat the Jets. Better defense than we thought. Right?

Vikings. If you’re a Vikes fan, Brett Favre should scare you come playoff time. But in the regular season? So far, so good.

Colts. Don’t look now, but only three teams in the NFL have allowed fewer points than Indy. And have we mentioned the quarterback?

Giants. They can run, pass and play defense. And did we mention they’re well-coached? Who needs Plaxico?

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Updated: Oct 14, 05:02 PM

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