Varitek indispensable to sox

February 20 , 2005 | MLB.com | By Ian Browne

 

FORT MYERS, Fla. -- They watched a future Hall of Famer walk out of their clubhouse and sign for $54 million dollars with the Mets, and the Red Sox were able to, almost to a man, philosophically look at it as a business decision.

 

While in no way slighting how brilliant a pitcher Pedro Martinez is, those same players would have in no way been able to maintain that type of balanced perspective had Jason Varitek decided to leave town.

 

It wasn't merely important for the defending World Series champions to bring back Varitek, who was free to sign with the other 29 teams in baseball for almost two months. It was, if you ask any player who wears a Red Sox uniform, pure necessity.

 

"Varitek, we had to get him back or the city would have rioted and the players probably would have, too," said Red Sox closer Keith Foulke.

 

They got him back and never had any intentions of letting him go anywhere. Varitek, upon re-upping with the Red Sox for four years and $40 million on Christmas Eve, was named the club's first captain since Jim Rice in 1989.

 

Varitek wasn't handed that prestigious title because of increased responsibilities the club expects him to take. Instead, it was basically an acknowledgement of all he has meant to his team since becoming the starting catcher for good in 1999.

 

"I have the same role that I've had for the past six or seven seasons," said Varitek. "I've got to wear the same gear day in and day out. I'll be no more vocal than I have been or I need to be. Being named captain doesn't mean all of a sudden you start speaking when you're not used to speaking and doing things different. I'm very honored to have that role and very honored to have that role given by our management and given by my teammates. But I'm not going to treat my teammates any different because of that."

 

Varitek's teammates wouldn't want him to change anything.

 

In a Major League clubhouse, you are bound to get different opinions on almost any subject. But the one thing that's virtually impossible to find in the Boston clubhouse is a player who doesn't have complete appreciation for all Varitek brings to the table.

 

"He doesn't let you slack off your game," said Red Sox reliever Mike Timlin, a veteran entering his 15th season. "He knows what you can do. He's seen you, if he's not played with you, he's played against you. He's played against you at your peak. He remembers your game. He remembers your 'A' game.

 

"When you go out on the field, he doesn't give his 'B' game out there, so he expects you to do the same. What he expects from himself, he expects from you. If you don't, he'll come over and say something to you. And that's what makes him a good leader. He leads by example, but he also leads by helping others."

 

There is also the matter of his switch-hitting bat, which produced a .296 average with 18 homers and 73 RBIs last season. And the way he provides a virtual no-detour sign for any baserunner trying to beat a throw to home plate. Then there are the hours of studying he puts in, making him arguably the most knowledgeable signal-caller in the game.

 

"I think you like to get to the point where you view your catcher as almost being indispensable and fortunately we didn't find out the hard way," said Red Sox manager Terry Francona. "He's everything you want in your catcher, whether it's Game 7 of the playoffs or field four in Spring Training. He goes about everything just like you're supposed to. I could talk about 'Tek for as long as you want and it would all be positive things and that's the way we view him."

 

If not for all the positive things everyone else says about Varitek, you might never hear them. Varitek is the last person to boast about his credentials.

 

But he does appreciate that his work is appreciated.

 

"There's no greater compliment," said Varitek. "The way I play the game and view the game is to have the respect of your peers. Your peers are what you're about."

 

Varitek will have some new peers to work with this season, some new pitchers to learn and then lead. And he reluctantly bid adieu to Martinez after catching nearly every inning the three-time Cy Young Award winner threw in a Red Sox uniform.

 

"We can't replace Pedro Martinez," said Varitek. "I don't even want to go down that road in trying to. These guys are different guys. None of them should have to pitch with the thought process of replacing Pedro Martinez. It can't be done. He's been the best pitcher in this decade. These guys are new. I have to get to know them. Some of them are veterans that I'm going to enjoy getting to know and seeing different perspectives. I'll probably learn a lot."

 

The pitchers who have thrown to Varitek over the last few years view him as a walking, talking encyclopedia.

 

"He takes in so much information, and he takes it from at-bat to at-bat," said Red Sox left-hander Alan Embree. "And he just doesn't take it over a week long period and say, 'OK, this guy is hot, this guy is cold.' He's paying attention to the mannerisms of the hitter from pitch to pitch. He has a game-plan, he is well prepared, he has a calming influence in the clubhouse."

 

But everyone knows that the C on his jersey does not stand for calming.

 

"I might be a little bashful about [wearing the 'C'] or something," said Varitek. "If they've honored me with that, I think I'm going to honor them back and wear it. I'm not going to hit any better because of it and I'm not going to hit any worse because of it or do things different behind the plate because of it. It's a role that is already been there."

 

And it's a role that the 2005 Red Sox would have been lost without.