Let me first start off by saying I am one of the biggest Jason Varitek fans there is.
With that out there, I was very happy that the Red Sox decided not to exercise their $5 million team option on him last week. I was even happier to wake up this morning to see that the captain exercised his $3 million player option.
The question posed to me this morning was “Is he worth it?” In a word, yes.
He has gone from one of the worst starting catcher’s statically to the best back-up backstop in the game.
Fans can’t just look at the numbers for this player. He is much more than that.
He provides leadership and direction for a pitching staff. He’s a stabilizing factor in the locker room and he's the living definition of what a Red Sox player should be.
The man’s a winner and that is how his career will be defined. Not by batting average or homeruns. Not by how many runners he threw out or errors he had. The only numbers will be winning percentage and World Series rings.
With Victor Martinez locked in as the starting catcher, Varitek’s role will be a new one for him. He’ll play about one game a week, which will leave him with a lot of spare time. I can see him coming up with game plans for the staff, almost like a pitching coach apprentice. This will only benefit the Sox over the course of the season.
He’ll accept this new role and he’ll embrace it. He’s not the type of player who will disrupt a clubhouse over lack of playing time. Both sides of this deal will benefit greatly from it.
Also, this will give fans the proper way to send-off one of the greatest players ever to don a Sox uniform.
As for the captaincy, he keeps it until he’s retired. He’s just that respected among his teammates and coaches.
