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Youkilis enters his at-bats looking for a heater to hammer, and up until two strikes, if he doesn’t get the pitch he wants in the place he wants it, he doesn’t swing. It’s as simple as that. And he wants to see as many pitches as possible. “First at-bat, first pitch, I’m taking,” he says. Youkilis is trying to get a feel for the pitcher’s delivery, his velocity, how much movement is on the fastball, the lighting in the park, his own balance.

Overall this season, he’s taken the first pitch in 91.3% of his at-bats. Whether it’s a ball or a strike, Youkilis will continue to look for fastballs, continue to bear down and discipline himself to swing only at pitches that are in his hitting zone. Advance scouts say that he is exceptional at making adjustments, at understanding how pitchers are trying to get him out. But Youkilis doesn’t try to think along with the pitcher during an at-bat. “Some guys are good at guessing what’s coming” he says. “Kevin Millar, he could say, ‘Hey, with a 1-0 count, this guy is going to try to throw me a backdoor slider.’ I can’t do that.”

Instead, Youkilis looks fastball until he’s in a hole. “Then I use my hands a little more,” he says. “I shorten up my swing a little bit.” This gives him even more time to react. Through June, Youkilis was hitting .305 on two-strike counts, more than 100 points better than the league average. Says an AL general manager: “Some hitters panic when the count reaches two strikes, because they don’t feel equipped to deal with the pitcher’s out-pitch, whether it’s a good breaking ball or a changeup. But Youkilis is not afraid to hit with two strikes.”

So his at-bats tend to drag on, as he takes pitches and fouls them off in bunches. He averages more than 4.1 pitches per plate appearance, among the league leaders. He knows his long ABs will frustrate the guy on the mound, because he has listened to Red Sox pitchers come back to the dugout griping after opposing hitters have done the same thing. “There is nothing better than when you have a 10-pitch at-bat and then get a hit,” he says.

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So many long at-bats meant a lot of walks, and so many walks earned him the nickname The Greek God of Walks.

In 2008 Kevin had another great year of long at bats. He had 29 home runs and 115 Ribbies. On On April 2, 2008, he broke the Major League record for most consecutive error-less games by a first baseman. In 2008 he was also close to being awarded M.V.P. Although he was in the M.V.P hunt he didn’t think he deserved it. ”I don’t think I’m the M.V.P.” Youkilis said. Personally I think his spiritless attitude about getting M.V.P. hurt his chances. He finished sixth in balloting for the 2009 AL M.V.P.

Kevin Youkilis and Josh Beckett meeting Barack Obama

In 2009, Youkilis was 2nd in the American League in OBP .413 and OPS .961, 4th in hit by pitch 16, 5th in slugging percentage, and batted .305 overall and .362 with runners in scoring position. Those are some of the most ridonculous stats I have ever seen “He has skills, man,” said David Ortiz “I don’t know how he do it. He just do it.” A highlight for Kevin in 2009 was when Youkilis was picked to be a reserve player on the American League All-Star team by Tampa Bay and AL manager Joe Maddon, after coming in second in the vote to Mark Teixeira. During his time at the at the All Star game he got to meet Barack Obama.

With all of Kevin Youkilis’ fame and success, he has also experienced many tragedies. He has had multiple friends die from suicide. In 2009 another tragic death effected him. Youkilis’s friend, Greg Montalbano, died suddenly of testicular cancer. Youk played his next game in his friend’s memory. After inscribing “GM” in marker on his cap, he hit two homers in the game against the Yankees, while driving in six runs. Both times as he crossed home plate, he looked up and pointed to the sky. “That was for him,” Youkilis said. “There are some crazy things that have happened in my life. You … feel like there’s somebody out there somewhere pushing balls out for you, and doing great things.”

Here is a interview of Kevin after he hit to home runs dedicated to Greg Montalbano. (You will see the GM on his hat.)

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Youkilis signed a four-year, $41.25 million contract with the Red Sox. Later that year, he was voted number 36 on the Sporting News list of the 50 greatest active baseball players, voted on by a panel that included members of the Baseball Hall of Fame. Although he didn’t win M.V.P. he finished the season on a high note. He was awarded the Thomas A. Yawkey Memorial Award. Today, Youkilis keeps doing well and everyone keeps noticing.

Part 1 is here.

Part 2 is here.

Part 3 is here.