Kevin Youkilis hasn't played since 2013, having experienced a 10-year big league career. Yet it wasn't until the second inning of Sunday's Red Sox game that he revealed an unbelievable item from his playing days.
With Bobby Dalbec up in the second inning against Chicago starter Dallas Keuchel, Youkilis was asked if he would let Dalbec swing at a 3-0 pitch. The response on the Peacock broadcast was, "I always look at the player. Are they getting outside themselves or are they under control."
But then he dropped the nugget.
"But you're asking the wrong guy," said Youkilis. "I never swung at one 3-0 my whole career." Not once? "Nope?" Why? "I don't know"
"It was a good system," he added. "Don't swing."
The numbers suggest Youkilis wasn't off base.
For his career, he had 108 plate appearances on 3-0 counts, all of which ended up in walks (with one RBI).
The most plate appearances on 3-0 counts that resulted in no hits or not outs, like Youkilis, belongs to Juan Pierre, who managed 117 of them.