Happy 36th!

Today we wish a very Happy 36th Birthday to Kevin Youkilis!

While watching some Super Bowl highlights recently, I remember seeing Youk on the sidelines waiting to celebrate. It reminded me that he married Tom Brady's sister. So, he was waiting with his in-laws, ready to celebrate his brother-in-law's championship. Weird. Makes me wonder, though. Do they have big family birthday parties in the Brady family? Is there a party going on right now where Youk, Tom Brady, and Gisele Bundchen are sitting around wearing funny hats and eating ice cream? How do you get an invite to that party?

Of course, to Red Sox fans, Youk is more than Tom Brady's brother-in-law. He's a two-time World Series champion, and a fan favorite. (Although, to be honest, he never really did anything for me. But, that's fine.) So, to celebrate, I thought I'd look at some of my favorite Youkilis baseball cards over the years. OK...favorite might be a stretch. But, they were the ones that were sitting around and easy to find.

The rookie card is a great place to start. He looks like quite the athlete in this picture, eh? Not exactly a Greek God. And, what's with the grin in the portrait shot? Creepy.

You had to guess that I'd include a Stadium Club card. If you've read anything From the Pedro Binder, you know that I think these cards epitomize what a card should be. The wonderful shot of Youk dropping his bat as he looks to the distance is enhanced by everyone in the crowd looking out there too. Wonder where it went.

 This is a nice looking card. The black border really adds something to it. The canvas feel to the image helps out too. I'm not generally a fan of card design so obviously built around a relic. But, this one somehow makes it work.

This would be the opposite example. Clearly this card was not designed around the relic. It was added in later. It's still very well done. Another picture of Youk looking into the distance to follow the flight of a ball. He must have done that a lot.

What a beautiful card. Just look at that logo in the lower right. I could stare at that all day. (No, not the Topps logo...the one above that.) And those words on the left side? The ones that are written SIDEWAYS. Not just sideways, but the opposite was as Youk's name. I still don't mind turning the card as often as I need to in order to read those.

Another fond memory. This time, Youk didn't ride any coattails to a ring. He earned this one. He was a key contributor to a team that dominated the rest of the league. Because of that, he got another card with a wonderful logo.

There we have it. Some great Kevin Youkilis cards to celebrate his birthday. Do you have a different favorite?

Happy Birthday Kevin!