RIVALRY RENEWED: Joba Chamberlain Blasts Kevin Youkilis as the Player He “Couldn’t Stand”.vc

Former New York Yankees pitcher Joba Chamberlain has reignited the intense Yankees-Red Sox rivalry with a surprisingly candid and spicy admission about the one player he intensely disliked: three-time All-Star Kevin Youkilis.

Appearing as a guest on The Eddie Mata Show, Chamberlain did not hesitate when asked to name the player he couldn’t get along with, revealing that his feud continued even after Youkilis shockingly signed with the Yankees.

The Source of the Conflict: A Teammate Feud

Chamberlain confirmed that the player he “couldn’t stand” was Youkilis, the former Red Sox slugger and AL rival. The tension between the two dates back to their playing days in the mid-2000s, punctuated by Chamberlain throwing pitches high and inside near Youkilis, even resulting in a two-game suspension for Chamberlain in 2007.

The dislike, however, was cemented during Youkilis’s brief, ill-fated stint with the Yankees in 2013:

• The Snub: Chamberlain stated he reached out to Youkilis immediately after he signed with New York to welcome him and smooth things over, but was “ignored… ignored… ignored.”
• The Hypocrisy: Chamberlain claims Youkilis then showed up to Spring Training wanting to be “all buddy buddy.”
• The Final Insult: Chamberlain ultimately dismissed Youkilis, citing his lack of production due to injury: “And then he breaks his back and doesn’t do anything for us, so that guy can go fly a kite.”

Youkilis’s Short-Lived Yankees Tenure

Youkilis, known as “The Greek God of Walks” during his Red Sox tenure, signed a one-year, $12 million deal with the Yankees ahead of the 2013 season. His time in the Bronx was severely limited by back and spinal injuries, leading him to play only 28 games before the season was over. This limited and injury-plagued run was Youkilis’s final season in MLB.

Chamberlain’s comments highlight that for some players, the rivalry runs so deep that even wearing the same pinstripes is not enough to squash the long-standing resentment.