Montalbano pitched for the Boston Red Sox in the minor leagues. On Saturday morning, he lost his near decade long battle with testicular cancer. Kevin Youkilis, his former minor league teammate, and Carlos Pena, his college teammate at Northeastern, both made him proud later in the day.

Pena hit a first inning homer for the Tampa Bay Rays against the Texas Rangers. He followed that up with a two-run homer in the fourth inning. With the game tied in the tenth inning, Pena had the game-winning RBI single. For the game, he was 3-for-4 with three runs and four RBIs.

Youkilis, in a contest that pitted the Red Sox against arch rival New York Yankees, hit a three-run homer in the second inning. In the sixth inning, he hit a two-run homer. He completed his big day with an RBI double in the eighth to finish 3-for-5 with two runs and six RBIs.

“When I pointed to the sky to him when I went to the dugout, that was for him,” said Youkilis about Montalbano. “That’s one of those things. There are some crazy things that have happened in my life where you always feel there’s somebody out there pushing balls out and doing great things for you.”

Said Pena of Montalbano: “I was crushed. He was my right hand in college. He’s been battling cancer for 10 years. He was always smiling. The only thing that comforts me is I know he’s in a better place, but we’re going to miss him greatly.

“I dedicated this game to his memory and his family.”

Youkilis talked about how he hoped his effort helped his former teammate’s family.

Said Youkilis: “It’s a good feeling to know that, for the Montalbano family going through some hard times right now, there’s a lot of guys that are there for them.”

Kevin Youkilis pointing to the sky in memory of Greg Montalbano (Image: Zuma Press)

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To lead off the second inning, Rick Porcello hit Kevin Youkilis. Youkilis reacted by dropping his bat and running toward Porcello. On his way to the mound, Youkilis threw his helmet. A couple seconds later, both players were on the ground.

When the dust settled, the Red Sox had beaten the Tigers by a final count of 7-5. Mike Lowell, who entered the game after Youkilis was ejected, ended up being the star. His third inning homer broke a tie and then he gave Boston a three-run lead with a two-run blast in the fifth.

The Red Sox desperately needed the win after recently getting swept by the New York Yankees. After their win on Tuesday, Boston is 5.5 games behind New York.

Here is video of the brawl between the Boston Red Sox and the Detroit Tigers:

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5) Carlos Pena, Tampa Bay Rays
Although his batting average is lower than preferred (.256), Carlos Pena is off to an otherwise fantastic start for the Rays. He already has nine homers in his first 22 games, while also driving in 24 RBIs, scoring 14 runs and walking 11 times.

4) Kevin Youkilis, Boston Red Sox
Kevin Youkilis was an MVP candidate last season. This season, he’s hitting even better. Through 21 games, the slugger is hitting .395 with five homers, 15 RBI, 20 runs and 14 walks. His on-base percentage is at an astronomical .505.

3) Jorge Cantu, Florida Marlins
Jorge Cantu has long been considered a solid prospect but he has really started off well this season. He’s hitting .365 with seven homers, 22 RBI and 15 runs. He’s on pace to shatter is already good numbers from 2008.

2) Adrian Gonzalez, San Diego Padres
Some scouts wondered if Adrian Gonzalez could keep up his great hitting ways despite playing in a pitcher-friendly ballpark and for a bad team. So far this season, he’s proving all doubters wrong. Gonzalez is hitting .333 with nine homers, 20 RBI, 19 runs and an on-base percentage of .438.

1) Albert Pujols, St. Louis Cardinals
So far, Albert Pujols has been the most valuable hitter in all of fantasy baseball. The Cardinals first baseman tops our rankings by batting .337 with eight homers, 28 RBI, 22 runs and even four stolen bases. He has to be considered the early favorite for National League MVP.

Albert Pujols of the Cardinals (Image: Newscom)

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Youkilis has quietly become one of the best hitters in baseball. Last season, the 29-year-old corner infielder hit .312 with 29 homers and 115 RBI. It was Youkilis’ third year as a full-time starter and by far his best season of the three.

Although he spent time at both third base and first base last season, he’s equally comfortable at each position. He’s a Gold Glove winner who can help in the field almost as much as he helps at the plate.

With the Red Sox can have another quality season, expect Youkilis to be the MVP talk in 2009.

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Pedroia, the second baseman for the Boston Red Sox, handily won the award by beating out Justin Morneau of the Minnesota Twins and his teammate Kevin Youkilis. Pedroia not only was very good in the field, at the plate he was one of the most dangerous players in the AL.

He finished the season with a .326 batting average and 17 homers, 83 RBIs, 118 runs scored and 213 hits. The 25-year-old improved his numbers across the board in his second full season in the big leagues.

Morneau, the first baseman for the Minnesota Twins, also had a really good season. He finished 2008 with a .300 batting average to go with 23 homers, 129 RBIs and 97 runs scored. Fellow first baseman Youkilis had 29 homers, 115 RBI to go along with a batting average of .312.

However, when it was all said and done, the big award in the American League was won by the smallest candidate.

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In the National League affair, the Phillies got off to an early lead and held on late as they won in front of their home fans. The hitting stars were outfielder Shane Victorino and pitcher Brett Myers. In fact, Myers was much better with the bat than he was with the ball as he went 3-for-3 with three RBIs and two runs. On the mound, he gave up five earned runs in five innings. Victorino, who was informed about a death in his family prior to the game, went 2-for-5 with four RBIs.

In the American League, the Red Sox went on the road to Tampa Bay and got a great pitching performance from Daisuke Matsuzaka. Matsuzaka was nearly perfect early on as he took a no-hitter into the seventh inning. He finished with nine strikeouts in seven scoreless innings. Kevin Youkilis went 3-for-4 with an RBI to lead the Boston bats.

To end the game for the Red Sox, Jonathan Papelbon pitched a perfect ninth inning. Here is a video of the never quiet Papelbon after the game:

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The story that goes along with this fight involves some Red Sox teammates supposedly having a problem with Youkilis slamming bats and throwing his helmet after poor at bats. Reportedly, a few teammates, including Ramirez, don’t appreciate Youkilis getting angry about poor at bats when the Red Sox are comfortably ahead. That disagreement led to a confrontation.

The good news for Red Sox fans is that both players now say the disagreement is in the past and they’ve worked out their differences.

Here is the Ramirez and Youkilis video:

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