Behind the plate

February 24, 2007 | Boston Globe| By Gordon Edes

 

How serious is Jason Varitek taking his conditioning? He's hired a personal assistant and full-time trainer, Leslie Eddins, who used to work with him at a gym called Hardball Warehouse in suburban Atlanta.

 

"He's got a new house, and everything's out back," Eddins said. "He's got a gym, with a batting cage in the bottom. I do all his nutrition training, personal assistant stuff. I'll be in Boston full time. I fed him the whole time. I'll be preparing meals for him in Boston, too."

 

Varitek is glad to have Eddins on board. "Just take a little bit off my plate, so I don't have to do it," he said. "Probably pay a little more attention to detail. When you're dealing with family and kids and stuff going on left and right, after I go out the door I can take something with me, rather than just having a turkey sandwich. It's helped."