Jason Varitek
Varitek has been quite a catcher for Sox
November 4, 2007 | The Republican | By Ron Chimelis
The captain would like to tell his fans a thing or two.
"I thank them," said Jason Varitek, the Boston Red Sox catcher and clubhouse leader, moments after his team had clinched the World Series in Denver, 2,000 miles away.
"Every guy, every woman, whoever it was, they've always been there for us. It makes Boston a very special place to play," he said.
Varitek, 35, is just as special to Boston. When premier Red Sox catchers are listed, Varitek is generally ranked No.2, trailing only Carlton Fisk, a Hall of Famer who hit a famous World Series home run.
Unlike Fisk, Varitek has won two World Series titles. Only five players (Varitek, Curt Schilling, Manny Ramirez, David Ortiz, and Mike Timlin) appeared in Series games in both 2004 and 2007, though Tim Wakefield, Kevin Youkilis, and Doug Mirabelli also played for both teams.
Varitek treats the two triumphs separately.
"There's no comparison," he said. "Different battles, different things to go through. This team didn't hit quite as well as the other one, but we hit well late."
For Varitek, 2007 was an especially rewarding year. In '06, a year he became the first Red Sox player to catch 1,000 games, he hit a career low .238 and missed the entire month of August for knee surgery.
Answering the skeptics who thought he was fading, Varitek hit .255 in 2007, with 17 home runs, fourth on the club.
After starting the playoffs in a 6-for-33 slump, he went 8 for 19 in his final five games, including 2 for 4 with a key RBI against Colorado in deciding Game 4.
With Varitek, though, it's never been about offense or numbers.
The pitchers he handled ranged from young (Clay Buchholz, Jon Lester) to aging (Schilling, Timlin) to newcomers who arrived with only basic English (Daisuke Matsuzaka, Hideki Okajima).
"This team had a lot of heart," he said. "We worked real hard from the staff to the scouts to everybody. We had to do the little things, and we were able to do them."
And where does that start?
"You want your catcher to be indispensable, but we found out the hard way," said manager Terry Francona, recalling the void Varitek's injury caused in 2006.
"He runs our team, and obviously runs our pitching staff. He's our captain."
Francona is convinced Varitek, who hit only .225 in the final 48 games of the regular season, would have higher offensive numbers if he played another position.
"Catching has to take a toll on anyone who cares about it," Francona said. "You're going to give up at-bats. I've often seen Jason talking to his pitcher after an inning, even as he's supposed to lead off our half."
Francona has also noticed the huge ice packs Varitek wears after games.
"Sometimes, I think he ought to maybe put one on his head, too, because you can tell he's worn out," the manager said. "He has a lot of responsibility, but with his demeanor, you never know how many hits he's had."
The Red Sox knew Varitek was irreplaceable, signing him and naming him captain after the 2004 World Series, even as Pedro Martinez and Derek Lowe were allowed to leave.
His latest moment of triumph only strengthens a legacy that makes the 18th captain in Red Sox history, in the eyes of his fans, one of a kind.