Al Yellon
Editor
A New York Mets Quiz - May 25
Grant Brisbee
Editor
'Mr. Loria: Tear. Down. That. Wall. Or Whatever The Hell That Is.' - May 26
Jeff Sullivan
Editor
How Close They've Come To The Sculpture - May 25
Rob Neyer
National Baseball Editor
Chone Figgins: M's Won't Play Him, Won't Dump Him - May 25
Dan Moore
Contributor
Joey Votto And The Twilight Of The Giant First Basemen - Apr 14
Jason Brannon
Hot Corner Scribe
Power Pop Friday - May 25
Jim Baker
Contributor
eBay Item Of The Day - May 25
Marc Normandin
Contributor
What's Wrong With Ike Davis? - May 25
Wendy Thurm
Contributor
Baseball On Par With Other Professional Sports In Dealing With Bad Umpires - May 20
Free agent Jason Varitek remains unsigned and the Red Sox have two catchers ahead of him. Will Varitek, almost 40, continue his career with another club? Should he?
Feb 7, 2012 - By all accounts, Jason Varitek would like to continue playing baseball. Preferably, and probably exclusively, under the auspices of Major League Baseball. And even at (almost) 40, he probably still can play. In limited duty the last two seasons, Varitek's batted .225/.297/.440, and that last figure elevates his performance to "hey, that's not bad for a catcher" territory.
Especially a catcher who by all accounts knows his pitchers like he knows his own gnarly, battered fingers.
Of course Varitek can't throw at all any more. Last season he threw out only 12 percent of the runners who tried to steal against him; two seasons ago -- the last time Varitek was the Red Sox' regular catcher -- he threw out eight percent. Essentially, he's become Mike Piazza back there when it comes to the running game.
Which doesn't actually lead to a great deal of runs for the other teams, but can be difficult to watch if you're a fan of, or employed by, the Boston Red Sox.
Another, bigger issue: the Boston Red Sox now have two catchers -- Jarrod Saltalamacchia and Kelly Shoppach -- they seem to like more than Varitek. And these days especially it's hard to find room for three catchers.
So what of Jason Varitek's future with the Red Sox, the only team he's ever played for? Nick Cafardo:
Could he come to spring training as a nonroster player and win a job, or be ready in case one of the others gets hurt? Of course.
Could he summon the desire to play for another team?
There is no doubt what Varitek brings to the table. His knowledge of his pitchers and game plans are unparalleled.
If you need someone to straighten out a staff, he’s the guy. If you need someone to mentor a young catcher, he’s the one.
One of the few places he would seem to fit is Minnesota, where Joe Mauer will need time to DH and rest. Ryan Doumit will be a DH most of the time and back up Mauer, but the Twins will likely carry three catchers.
But there is his legacy to think about.
It's hard to imagine a more personal choice than that between playing for another season -- plying one's chosen trade, and being well compensated for it -- and locking up one's legacy. However hard that last might be to define.
Are people really going to remember or care if Varitek spends a few months wearing a Twins uniform? Cafardo references Dwight Evans (disapprovingly) and Jorge Posada (approvingly); Evans finished his career with one season in Baltimore after 19 in Boston, while Posada called it quits this winter when the Yankees didn't want him.
But of course we can't know what was in either player's head, exactly. We also can't know if Posada actually had any solid offers to play in 2012.
Also, and I don't relish mentioning this, but it's not Varitek's been the Second Coming of Johnny Bench or something. He's got 1,307 career hits. He's won a Gold Glove. He never finished better than 21st in MVP balloting. He was a really good player and a key piece of two World Championship teams; perhaps only the Red Sox front office knows how much Varitek meant to the franchise, both statistically and emotionally.
Will playing for another club really change how Red Sox fans think about Jason Varitek? I sure wouldn't think so. All that really matters now is what Jason Varitek thinks. Well, him and all the general managers who might offer him a job. Anybody in the market for an (almost) 40-year-old catcher with some power who can't throw or play more than half the time?
9 comments
1
Mar 2
15
Feb 28
1
Feb 27
Rob Neyer:
Jason Varitek's Legacy (Or Not)
9
Feb 7
8
Dec 13
Miguel Montero, Diamondbacks Reportedly Agree To 5-Year Extension
Rockies Place Ramon Hernandez On DL With Hand Problem
Juan Carlos Oviedo Will Arrive In USA Monday, Report To Marlins Camp
Orioles DFA Bill Hall, Make Other Roster Moves
Pirates DFA One-Season Wonder Nate McLouth
Pablo Sandoval Swinging, Fielding
Yankees Sign John Maine To Minor-League Deal
Lance Berkman Injury: Out 8-10 Weeks After Knee Surgery
Orioles, Adam Jones Reportedly Agree To Extension +1
Ryan Howard Still Taking Batting Practice
More News »
Comments
Wouldn't mind seeing the Mets take him on as a backup catcher
but they probably can’t afford him. Or anyone.
by aronofsky40 on Feb 7, 2012 8:42 AM EST reply actions
I can't imagine that it'd change the way....
that Sox fans think about him. Despite Cafardo’s comments, nobody thinks of Evans as “less a Red Sox” because of his time in Baltimore.
Also, with Ryan Lavarnway likely to start the season at AAA, but probably ready for the big leagues, Varitek would be 4th (at best) on the Sox catching depth chart.
by MikeD76 on Feb 7, 2012 9:19 AM EST reply actions
Also, regarding Evans
Agreed – Evans is still beloved in Boston, and Varitek always will be too.
People seem to forget this, but the Red Sox probably would’ve been well served to keep Evans. In 1990 (his last year with Boston), having probably the worst year in his career, Evans still had a higher OBP than Tom Brunansky. In ‘91 with Balitmore, Dewey had a .393 OBP, so, even though he was nothing like his young self defensively and his power was mostly gone, his WAR was 1.2 higher than Bruno’s according to B-Ref, and 0.7 higher according to Fangraphs.
Like Evans, Varitek doesn’t owe anything more to the Red Sox or their fans than he’s already given them. His legacy is set. If he wants to keep playing baseball, who are any of us to question him?
by thedunnedeal24 on Feb 7, 2012 10:18 AM EST up reply actions
It wouldn't change anything
about his legacy or the love Boston fans have for him. Tek was a great team leader and a major part of ending the drought of WS titles in Boston. If he can play another year and wants to do so, I would wish him the best. Realistically though, he is done as a player and should transition into coaching.
- Matt Sullivan
"I would change policy, bring back natural grass and nickel beer. Baseball is the belly-button of our society. Straighten out baseball, and you straighten out the rest of the world." Bill "Spaceman" Lee
www.overthemonster.com
http://www.rantsports.com/boston-red-sox/
by Mattsullivan on Feb 7, 2012 9:37 AM EST reply actions
Bench/Varitek
Nobody’s going to resent Varitek for playing out his string elsewhere. He’s been the backbone of the Red Sox for a generation and that’s how he’ll be remembered. Johnny Bench was the best ever. We forget his catching days ended when he was 32 and he was out of baseball by 35. Perhaps if he had caught fewer games in his 20s he’d have lasted until he was 40.
by aitken drum on Feb 7, 2012 6:00 PM EST reply actions
intangibles
How much do the intangibles matter? The stats about how well the Red Sox play with Varitek behind the plate must be meaningful. The team has had a hard time parting ways with Jason due to how well he works with the pitchers and how well he calls games. I wish there was a modern sabermetrics way of quantifying that effect. Any thoughts on that Rob?
by johndawson on Feb 7, 2012 8:11 PM EST reply actions
Intangibles aren't tangible
That’s why they’re intangibles. If they were quantifiable, they’d cease to be intangible. That doesn’t mean they don’t exist, or that we should ignore qualitative evidence (i.e. pitchers saying “I want to work with this guy”) – just that it’s impossible to measure them.
Three points though, regarding Varitek’s perceived intangibles specifcally:
1. Mike Fasts work at Baseball Prospectus regarding “framing pitches,” one of the few tangible parts of working with pitchers and calling the game, shows that he’s well below average.
2. Varitek’s other tangible benefits have whittled away to nil. His total rWAR, since 2008, is 0.9. That’s over 347 games played. For comparison’s sake, Jorge Posada’s was 3.1 over 397 games, even including his -1.1 last year. Matt Wieters, who gets labeled a “bust”, is 7.5 in only three seasons.
3. Varitek’s intangibles for working with pitchers and leadership certainly didn’t work last year, when the pitchers collapsed in a particularly embarrassing way, and the lack of leadership seemed to be a major reason why. We can’t be doling out only “positive” points for leadership. If the clubhouse goes to hell, it’s fair to hold the leaders of that team responsible, just as we place leaders of seemingly well-run teams onto a pedestal.
I don’t want to sound like I’m anti-Varitek. I love the guy and everything he’s done for the Red Sox over the past 14 years. If he wants to keep playing baseball, that’s awesome – I wish I could play baseball for a living, and I would imagine that it wouldn’t be something I’d easily be able to give up if I could. But there are few rational reasons for the Red Sox to re-sign him.
by thedunnedeal24 on Feb 9, 2012 7:00 AM EST up reply actions
Legacies Are....
…. created by the fans and the press. Varitek probably doesn’t sit at home and think about that. If fans and the press decide that it affects his “legacy”, then it will— but it probably won’t affect Varitek.
"We praise or blame as one or the other affords more opportunity for exhibiting our power of judgment." Friedrich Nietzsche, "Human,All Too Human" (1878)
by wgarrett on Feb 8, 2012 1:01 PM EST reply actions
“Of course Varitek can’t throw at all any more. Last season he threw out only 12 percent of the runners who tried to steal against him; two seasons ago — the last time Varitek was the Red Sox’ regular catcher — he threw out eight percent. Essentially, he’s become Mike Piazza back there when it comes to the running game.”
Now now, lets be fair.
Varitek threw out 23% of opposing runners in 12166 innings and Piazza 23% in 13555 innings. Through 2003, when Piazza had about as many career innings as a catcher as Varitek has now he was still at 25% as well.
If you want to argue he’s fallen off, I think you have to show that runners are taking more attempts on him seeing that he’s lost something.
For his career, Piazza had an average of 134 attempts per 1000 innings… and he was atleast pretty consistant… about the same number of innings as a Dodger/Marlin as as a Met/Padre, 133 and 135 attempts per 1000 innings respectively.
In the last three years Varitek has spiked in this regard; he was at 100 attempts per 1000 IP for his career and then 142 in the last three years. So Piazza like in that regard, I guess.
But split up Varitek further:
YEARS CS% Att/1000
1997-2001 26% 140
2002-2008 25% 83
2009-2011 15% 142
Variteks attempts against have actually just jumped back to his levels from early in his career…
by erosen on Feb 14, 2012 4:36 PM EST reply actions
Comments For This Post Are Closed