Sox Beat: A contract for captain?

March 10, 2008 | New Hampshire Union Leader | By Alex Speier

 

FORT MYERS, Fla. – AS THE RED SOX entered the offseason following their first World Series win in 86 years back in 2004, a stark question loomed. Would the team commit to a long-term deal for its unquestioned leader despite the fact that, at 32, Jason Varitek was approaching an age when catchers typically break down?


Now, as Varitek enters the final season of a four-year, $40 million contract he signed that winter, the Sox face a similar dilemma. With the catcher still occupying an elite place in the game, the question about whether the team might re-sign him again hovers.


Sox general manager Theo Epstein said at baseball's winter meetings that Varitek may well be the team's catcher of the future. As of last week, however, the Sox had yet to engage him in talks about a potential extension.


"I can't really get into (contract discussions) until it's something real or tangible. Right now, it's not real and tangible," said Varitek. "I've got to focus on playing right now and preparing to play."


Yet Varitek's uncertain future seems unlikely to serve as a source of either distraction or discontent. In 2004, he played at an exceptional level during his walk year.


He never complained about his unresolved contract status while anchoring a World Series winner. There is no reason to suggest that anything will proceed differently this year.


"It's never an easy time to go through, period, but everyone has to go through it," said Varitek. "You still have to execute and be ready to play."


In the current climate, where free-agent catchers who are outstanding hitters, defenders and leaders are rare to non-existent, it is conceivable that Varitek could seek a similar contract once his current deal expires. The 35-year-old pronounces his intention to "play as long as (he) can," and there seems reason to believe that he is physically capable of a sustained run.


Sox catching coach Gary Tuck marveled that Varitek had just 7.9 percent body fat when he arrived in spring training this year. The catcher followed a typically intense offseason workout schedule that focused on increasing his agility and flexibility.


In short, Varitek's body defies any assumptions made based on his age and position. As such, his demise by no means seems imminent.


"I think he'll start for somebody until he's 40 because there's no catching in this league. No starting catching," said fellow Sox catcher Doug Mirabelli. "He brings too much to the defensive side, the game calling, the planning, and being the way he is. His total package is much better than 95 percent of starting catchers out there."


Over the first three years of his current deal, that notion has been apparent. Varitek won the Gold Glove and Silver Slugger awards in 2005, identifying him as the best offensive and defensive catcher in the American League. In 2006, his value was underscored while he was injured as the Sox fell apart when he required surgery on a torn meniscus.


Last year Varitek returned from the injury and returned to elite form in ways both obvious and subtle. Offensively, though he hit .255, he ranked fifth among big-league catchers in OBP (.367) and OPS (.787) and sixth in homers (17). Defensively, in addition to earning continued raves as a signal caller, he also showed exceptional hands.


"He blocked over 730 baseballs and went a month and a half in the season without having a wild pitch, which is unheard of," said Tuck. "Between he and Mirabelli and Cash, they ended up leading the major leagues in the least amount of wild pitches, which obviously equals bases, which equals runs."


Such performance highlights the difficulty of comparing Varitek to other catchers when trying to predict his future performance. For that matter, it is difficult to find any catchers to compare to him now.


"He's how you draw them up in the lab. I'd like to put him in a copying machine and make two or three copies of him," Tuck said. "He's going to be 36 here pretty soon. He's got the body of a 25, 26-year-old. And I think he's got the mind of a 56- or 66-year-old. That's a pretty good combination. You add that to the heart of a lion, the leadership, and it's a pretty special package."