Farewell, Oh Captain, My Captain: Jason Varitek to Retire
It is now official; Jason Varitek is retiring. The long time Boston Red Sox catcher- the team’s captain since 2004- has opted to hang it up after 15 years as a Major League ballplayer. His is expected to remain with the Red Sox organization, where he played his entire major league career, in some capacity. The 39 year old backstop did not want to consider playing for another other major league organization and the addition of Kelly Shoppach and the emergence of prospect Ryan Lavarnway left him off Boston’s catching depth chart. he will official anouce his retirement on Thursday March 1, 2012.
Varitek came to Boston as a minor league in one of the worst trades in baseball history. At the 1997 trade deadline, the Seattle Mariners sent Varitek and pitching prospect Derek Lowe to Boston for reliever Heathcliff Slocumb. Varitek became a regular the following season and would eventually be named to three All-Star Games, win a Gold Glove and a Sliver Slugger award, and earn MVP votes in three seasons.
Jason Varitek is easily the second greatest Boston Red Sox catcher of all time. His 23.1 career rWAR is second only to Hall-of-FamerCarltonFisk. He is first in games played at catcher for Boston ahead of Fisk a first in plate appearances, hits, home runs, doubles and RBI’s at the position. Varitek was also routinely praised for his game calling skills . He is the only player in baseball history to catch four no-hitters. Defensively, he was extremely well-regarded, though advanced statistics never rated him too far above average. His arm was never the most impressive part of his game; he caught 23% of runners attempting to steal on his career and never topped 30% in a season. However, he was very good at preventing pass balls and wild pitches and one of the all-time greats at blocking the plate.
For all his skill, Jason Varitek was almost certainly just as valuable for his leadership ability. He was named the Red Sox team captain after re-signing with the team in prior to the 2005 season, becoming just the third player to hold that title for the Red Sox. The other two, Carl Yastrzemski (1969–1983) and Jim Rice (1986–1989) are both in the Hall of Fame. As captain, he wore the letter C on his chest at his teammate’s insistence. Former manager Terry Francona had remarked that having Varitek on the team was like having an additional coach on the bench on more than one occasion.
Red Sox fans will miss Varitek’s steady handling of the pitching staff and his long uppercut stroke this coming season. For 15 years he was the unquestioned leader of the Red Sox, guiding them to 2 World Series Championships from his place behind home plate. Farewell, Oh Captain, My Captain.
Buy Boston Red Sox Tickets | Buy Boston Red Sox Apparel
Leave a Rant
and oh, if you want a pic to show with your comment, go get a gravatar!