Youuuuuk vs. The Text Message.

As we draw close to February, we start the countdown to when the pitchers and catchers report. Let the baseball talk begin. The Red Sox just signed Adrian Beltre, so Sox fans, you know what that means….YOUUUUUUUK is finally our everyday first baseman. That’s gonna spark a comparison between Youk and the new Yankee golden boy Mark Teixeira. Who is the better first baseman? Well, what a wonderful question. Let me break it down for ya.

Hands down, Youk has the better facial hair… but we’ll save that for another argument. Both men are dynamic offensive players and gold glove defenders, but who’s better? Teixeira has a slight edge in power, but Youk can hit for a better average. Teixeira hits from both sides of the plate; Youk can play both sides of the infield. Youk has better playoff numbers and, of course, he has played more games, but I’m using that anyway. I guess we’ll just have to look at numbers to answer this age-old question.

In 156 games this year, Marky Mark hit .292 with 39 home runs and 122 RBIs; not too shabby. However, in the world series—when it matters most—he went a dismal 3 for 22. WOMP WOMP WOMP.  Big players are supposed to step up in big situations; I have yet to see that from Teixeira. He did, however, show us incredible range at first base and made a lot key defensive plays in that series, throughout the playoffs,  and throughout the regular season.

Youk in 136 games, 20 less than the text message, (yes, I did that math by myself) posted a .305 batting average 27 home runs and 94 RBIs. With that being said, if Youk had been healthy all season, you could add 5 to 10 more home runs and about 10 to 15 more RBIs. His batting average might have creeped up a little bit but thats too tough to tell. Youk didn’t fare much better than Teixeira in his lone world series appearance, only going 2 for 9, but he wasn’t a key contributor to his team like Mark was. Kevin has also shown incredible range from both corner infield positions.

So who would you rather have on your team? Well, you don’t write on this blog so you can’t answer. I guess I’ll have to do that for you. The answer, my friends, is YOOOOOOOOOOOUUUUUK. He does more for your team and oh man is he consistent. He also brings a fire to the ball park that Tex doesn’t. You look at the gaudy numbers from Teixeira and you think, “Lopes, you crazy.” Well I ain’t. Youk can just as easily put up those numbers, hit for a better average, and score more runs while doing it. He can also hit from any spot in the lineup. And oh man does he throw one hell of a temper tantrum. By the way… this is not a biased opinion at all (ok maybe just a little).