Jason Varitek
BIg Catcher Got away
June 6, 2008 | Tacoma News Tribune | By Ryan Divish
BOSTON – It’s impossible to miss.
Even across Jason Varitek’s expansive chest, one little letter grabs the eye.
It is a badge of honor to be sure. A badge that signifies not only success, but sacrifice, sweat and a superhuman work ethic that demands respect from all who play with or against the Boston Red Sox catcher.
The scarlet “C” on Varitek’s jersey signifies what his teammates already know – Varitek, or “Tek” as he’s called, is the captain of the team without question, debate or compromise.
For fans of the Seattle Mariners, who open a three-game series against Varitek and the Red Sox today at Fenway Park, that “C” represents something less uplifting, perhaps chagrin.
Before he became a stalwart for two Boston championship teams, Varitek was a Mariners prospect. Seattle used its first-round draft pick, No. 14 overall, on the catcher from Georgia Tech 14 years ago this week.
If not for a desperate trade made by a desperate general manager, Varitek likely wouldn’t have earned two World Series rings with the Red Sox.
“I try not to think about that,” the square-jawed Varitek said with a grin. “I think it’s worked out pretty good for me in Boston.”
It didn’t, of course, work out so well for the Mariners.
Woody Woodward’s swap of Varitek and pitcher Derek Lowe for Red Sox reliever Heathcliff Slocumb at the trading deadline in 1997 often has been rued as one of the worst in club history.
The Mariners, mired in last place in the American League West and 18 games under .500, could use a player blessed with the intangibles Varitek possesses. Seattle’s management has openly pined for a leader such as Varitek to take charge in the clubhouse.
Forget that he’s a career .267 hitter and good for roughly 15 home runs and 65 RBI a season with a knack for getting big hits in key situations. Forget that he’s probably one of the best defensive catchers in the game in terms of blocking, throwing and calling a game. Varitek brings more than that to the game.
“He always had it,” said Mariners catching coordinator Roger Hansen, who helped tutor the young Varitek. “You could see that leadership quality in him from the very beginning.”
What it is isn’t simply defined. It’s a swagger, a command, a level of respect earned that makes Varitek’s value larger than the sum of his statistics.
There’s little question the Mariners could use it now.
For much of the season, the Mariners have been a rudderless mess, adrift in a sea of mediocrity. It’s tough to imagine Varitek accepting any semblance of the status quo if he were on this team.
“His leadership qualities are really off the charts,” said Mariners manager John McLaren, who coached Varitek during his Seattle days and at the World Baseball Classic in 2006. “It’s something that’s instilled in him. He’s just a natural leader.”
In his own quiet but authoritative way, Varitek dismissed some of the praise.
“I think mine has happened because of positional opportunity,” he said. “I don’t know that you can force somebody to be something that they’re not. But players respect players that have a certain level of care, respect and love for the game.”
And it isn’t some show that Varitek puts on display. He believes in putting work in every day.
“To me, that’s what leadership is. What a guy is doing when no one’s watching,” former Red Sox teammate Kevin Millar told ESPN The Magazine a few years back. “Everyone’s working hard when the manager walks by, but if you sneak up on them, you might catch them slacking off. Not Varitek. With him, nothing is a show.”
Even with all he’s achieved, Varitek hasn’t stopped pushing himself. He’s almost impossible to track down before or after a game because his routine is filled with extra study, extra hitting, extra film work and extra conditioning – only it’s not extra to Varitek, it’s the norm.
“I told him, I don’t give a damn how much money you have, how big a superstar you are, you have to keep striving and keep working,” Hansen said of a conversation he had with Varitek when the Red Sox were in Seattle recently. “And he will work. The older he gets, the harder it will be for him and the harder he’ll work. He will never be satisfied with anything.”
Varitek calls himself a quiet guy, a leader by example. If that’s not enough, he will say something, and it won’t always be polite.
“I try to be on the quieter side, but I also have improved my communication skills and I’ll say something if I think I need to,” Varitek said as his face becomes stone serious.
A description of that type of mentality gives McLaren a wistful look, almost as if he’s daydreaming about what Varitek could do for the Mariners clubhouse. It’s a thought that brings a smile and a look of a pain.
“He’s a bulldog,” McLaren said. “I wouldn’t want to mess with the guy. He’s big-time old-school. He’ll hurt you. He’s a throwback player. And there just aren’t many out there like him. Players like him just don’t come around often.”
Just ask the Mariners.