NEW YORK -- Red Sox first baseman Kevin Youkilis was named to his first All-Star team on Sunday, one year after he felt he deserved the honor.

He wasn't an All-Star in 2007, but he finished the year as a World Series champion and won a Gold Glove. Now, he can add All-Star to his resume.

"It's a great thing to be able to get voted into the All-Star team by the fans and I want to say thank you to everyone who voted for me," said Youkilis. "It was never something I set out to do, but a lot of great things have happened in my career so far. I have two World Series rings, and now an All-Star game, so this will go up there at the top of the list of exciting things."

He one of the more consistent players on the Red Sox from year to year and in 2007 he was on the verge of making the All-Star team, but fell a bit short.

"I thought I had a good run last year, but it was one of those things where [not having] the DH in the National League" -- last year's game, played in San Francisco, was DH-less -- "really affects a lot of the first baseman . . . It was just one of those things I had to suck on last year, but it has all worked out now that I'm an All-Star and you really can't complain about last year. This is a good thing for me."

He will join six of his Red Sox teammates at Yankee Stadium next week for the midsummer classic, something he said he's looking forward to.

"To do it here at Yankee Stadium is an added bonus to being an All-Star this year," he said. "It's going to be exciting and it's going to be one of those things I'll look back on. It's going to be a great time and a lot of fun."