Fisk, Varitek - fine catches

September 20, 2006 | The Enterprise - SouthofBoston.com | By Bob Stern

 

BOSTON — Carlton Fisk looks into a mirror and sees the reflection of Jason Varitek staring back at him.

It is Varitek who most emulates Fisk, who most understands Fisk, and who is most like Fisk.

Perhaps it's the philosophy of baseball they share or perhaps it's the talent that has blessed both of them.

More likely, it's the bond they share from playing the same position.

“Everybody plays baseball, but there's only one position on the field that can truly understand and appreciate what it takes to play the like position, and that's the catcher,” said Fisk.

“There's only one person, one group of players that can appreciate what it takes to play that position everyday.

“I've been in a lot of places where there have been a group of players together, and everybody's out and around. Catchers are over here, just yakking and jabbering. It's a special position, and easily the most demanding.”

Fisk and Varitek sat at the same table before Tuesday night's game against the Twins, veterans of 3,235 major league games as catchers. All of Varitek's games have been in a Red Sox uniform, and his 1,009 games are the most by any Red Sox catcher in history.

Fisk's first 990 games as a catcher came in a Red Sox uniform, and there could have been more had a contract been mailed to him on time. Instead, the rest of the games were caught in Chicago, and he holds the major league record for most games caught at 2,226.

Before Tuesday's game, Fisk presented Varitek a bronze catcher's glove to signify Varitek becoming the first Red Sox catcher to catch 1,000 games.

Fisk and Varitek are members of a fraternity unlike any in baseball, and maybe any in professional sports. Theirs is a more than camaraderie of people who share the same responsibility; their's is a bond not understood except by a talented few.

“I don't think anybody can relate to playing our position every day except the people who play it everyday,” said Varitek.

Don't be fooled. Not all players feel that way. Catchers do.

Fisk and Varitek had kind words about each other — glowing words. Fisk talked about Varitek's professionalism, preparation and commitment to the game. Varitek talked about the legacy Fisk left and how he's the poster boy for catchers today and in the future.

But it all comes back to playing the game right. Don't call them throwbacks; Fisk bristled at the term. He pointed out that there's just one way to play the game, and that was the same “in 1902 as it is in 2002.”

Maybe that thinking comes with the position. Both players are dirty players; no, not cheap-shot artists but players who get dirty playing the game. They'll fall to their knees to block pitches in the dirt. They'll stand firm at the plate to block runners trying to score. They'll dive on warning tracks to catch foul balls.

Their's is a position that is unappreciated except by those who truly understand the game. They don't post the lofty batting averages of center fielders, and they don't possess the power numbers of first basemen.

Their importance is measured after the final out has been made — whether their team won.

“I've always enjoyed the way he catches and approaches the game,” said Fisk of Varitek. “He's a tough nut. You need to be one of those to be back there. You can tell by his actions on the field that the most important part of his game is behind the plate. I always felt that was my most valuable place on the field and dealing with the pitchers and positions and the umpires. I see a lot of that in Jason, too.

“When you recognize you have more chances to influence the outcome of the game back there than you do three or four or five times you come to the plate. If you can feel good about what you're doing behind the plate and what the pitcher is doing with you, then you feel that much better than when you go up to the plate.

“Even if things don't work out at the plate, you can still feel as though you have influence on the outcome. I always thought it was necessary for me to come out of the game with a victory. I could go 0-for-4, 0-for-8 or 0-for-the-week, but I know that I blocked a ball to save the run or helped a pitcher out in a tough spot.

“Even though your value doesn't show up in the numbers page, you have a lot of value when you put the gear on.”

The words could have been Varitek's.

He's always placed more emphasis, more importance, in calling the right pitch for his pitcher than lining a double down the right-field line.

He's always shied away from talking about game-winning hits, preferring instead to talk about the performance of his pitcher.

He wears the Red Sox's captain's C for a reason. He's a team-first guy, always has been since he's come to the major leagues. Maybe that's just the mentality of being a catcher.

Carlton Fisk never was a captain for a team. But he could have been.

“Look at the value he brought to our position in durability and the experience,” said Varitek of Fisk. “We can only learn from what was before us.

“He's a benchmark and he epitomizes what we do at our position. To hear it from him just solidifies what I believe in.”