Variteks holding reunion

July 6, 2000 | Associated Press

 

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) -- Jason and Justin Varitek found themselves doing almost the exact same thing this week, separated only by the Mississippi River, several rungs on the baseball ladder and millions of dollars.

Jason Varitek, the Boston Red Sox catcher, sat in the Metrodome bullpen and watched his team beat the Minnesota Twins 11-8 on Wednesday. Meanwhile, Justin was in the dugout at Midway Stadium, where the Saints lost 5-1 to the Sioux City Explorers.

Jason Varitek was the 1994 college player of the year at Georgia Tech when he was drafted by Seattle. In the midst of a contract dispute, he signed with the St. Paul Saints in January 1995, although he never played for the Northern League team.

Justin Varitek was an adequate catcher at Murray State the last four years who went undrafted. He hit .281 with seven home runs in 32 games in his last college season, leading the team with a .535 slugging percentage.

After Justin's college career, Jason arranged a tryout for Justin with the Saints because of his relationship with St. Paul manager Marty Scott.

Justin said he will always be grateful to his big brother for helping him get his first big break. "I'd rather help myself out, but having him where he's at is always a big help," Justin said. "I don't look for handouts or anything. I like to do things on my own. It's definitely a big help."

The rookie catcher has played in nine games for the Saints, hitting .182 (4-for-22) with just one RBI, which came in his first professional at-bat, against the Duluth-Superior Dukes on June 23, the day he signed with the Saints.

Jason's not exactly an unbiased observer, but he's confident his brother just needs to adapt to the rigors of playing every day and using a wooden bat. "He needs to catch, and he needs to play. Every year he gets better, but to completely catch up with the game, he needs to play more," Jason said. "He just didn't have the opportunity to play as much through his high school days and really, his last three years he's played a lot more."

Jason, who is hitting .281 with five home runs and 31 RBIs, said Justin was adjusting well to life as a professional ballplayer when the two got together Wednesday night for the first time since Jason watched Justin and Murray State lose 11-9 to Belmont on Feb. 16 in Nashville, Tenn. "He seems real happy and real excited," Jason said Thursday.

The two watched a movie after Wednesday's game and Justin spent the night in Jason's hotel room. They had lunch together before both had to leave for their respective stadiums.

Justin feels he'll start to improve and the meeting with Jason helped put him at ease. "We just talk baseball," Justin said. "If I have a question, he'll answer that. We always talk about (hitting)." Red Sox manager Jimy Williams said Justin couldn't have a better role model and teacher. "(Jason is) better than good. He has great work ethic," Williams said. "He has baseball instincts."