Varitek on the money
Veteran's value is worth a lot
Striding to the plate, crouching behind it, walking into the clubhouse to grab one of the numerous binders full of a career's worth of notes, Jason Varitek betrays no hint that he once was concerned about making it. It's hard to imagine doubts and worries could filter through that crew cut.
But they were there. They were there in 1997, when Varitek was 25, new to the Red Sox organization, yet to make his major league debut. At that point, there was one thing he was looking for. One thing, above all, he was seeking.
"[Former Sox manager Jimy Williams] said, 'You're a baseball player. You're going to be a baseball player,' " Varitek recalled. "That's the first time in my whole pro career you're really told something positive and that, for me, turned [it around]. He saw probably what my biggest heart and desire was, was to be recognized as, 'Hey, he's a baseball player.'
"I got beat on, I got dragged down, I got knocked around. I got yelled at, I got screamed at. But he still backed you. He had the confidence and support behind you. I think that's key to any position for any player, but for me, that was instrumental in my career."
A two-time first-round pick (he was selected by the Twins as a junior at Georgia Tech, but couldn't come to terms and returned to school, then was taken by the Mariners), Varitek has been one of the most valuable members of two world championship teams.
But the deal he signed after the first World Series title in 2004, for four years and $40 million, is coming to an end. With no replacement in the organization at the moment, the Red Sox need to consider his worth. And even at 36, Varitek will likely command a high price.
Although Kevin Cash has been an able backup this season, the Sox will have to find a younger one eventually, one who could step into the starting role when Varitek's time is done. Though Varitek's conditioning is excellent, few catchers thrive late in their careers.
With 36-year-old Jorge Posada signing for $52.4 million over four years with the Yankees in the offseason, Varitek might have a basis with which to work. And though Posada is better offensively, Varitek is better defensively. At one time, Varitek's defense was not considered among the elite.
"I was told a lot what I couldn't do," he said. "Can't catch, can't throw, can't receive, can't call a game, struggling hitting. Everybody struggles. Everybody probably struggled at one point. But I was fortunate. I got traded at a time when things were starting to make a little light."
Varitek's batting average has dipped as he has aged, standing now at .240. He has more strikeouts (55) than hits (47). He's not quite as invulnerable as he once was. But pitchers laud him, as does the opposition. Everyone does nowadays.
"When I got to work with Varitek at the [World Baseball Classic], I saw everything everyone had talked about and raved about, his ability to break down and analyze," said USA manager Buck Martinez, a former catcher. "That's why he's wearing two World Series rings."
Well, that's one reason.
"This team means more to him than his life," Red Sox bullpen coach and catching instructor Gary Tuck said. "That's something I don't know if people know about. It's incredible how he lives and dies every pitch of this game and every game this team plays. I've never seen anything like it.
"A lot of guys I've had are interested in contracts, are interested in their statistics, interested in making the All-Star team, not interested in the nuts and bolts of what pitch makes the team win.
"That's a rare catcher to me. That's a championship catcher. And that's my highest compliment I can pay, that a guy's a championship catcher."
