Old Reliable

June 21 , 2009 | Eagle Tribune | By Alan Siegel



BOSTON - The Stay Puft Marshmallow Man resides in a quiet corner of the Red Sox clubhouse.


You know him better as Jason Varitek, Boston's inimitable starting catcher. After every game, he emerges from the training room sporting bulging ice packs that make him look, well, like the 200-foot Stay Puft Marshmellow Man in "Ghostbusters."


"If you watch catchers, for the most part, they're tougher than the other guys," said four-time All-Star catcher Bob Boone, the Washington Nationals' vice president of player development and a Varitek admirer. "If a backswing hits you in the head, you keep playing. That comes with the territory."


Varitek, now in his 13th season in the majors, could probably teach a course on what comes with the territory. If Harvard offered a doctorate of catching, he would've earned it long ago.


"Sometimes, I think he needs to take a little break," second-year Sox reliever Justin Masterson said with a smile. "Jason does a tremendous job. When the questions about him (re-signing) came up, I was like, 'Hey, bring him back.'"


The 2008 season was difficult all around for Varitek, After 12 years of marriage, he filed for divorce and he had the worst offensive year of his career (.220 batting average, .313 on-base percentage, 13 home runs).


His numbers were abysmal in the playoffs (4 of 34, 1 RBI).


But after turning down arbitration in the fall, which would have given him close to the $10 million he made in 2008, the three-time All-Star signed a one-year deal. It was worth $5 million - with a player option worth $3 million for 2010 and a club option for $5 million.


The move didn't set off a wild celebration, but for the pitching staff, it was a relief.


"I haven't really seen anybody better," Masterson said, "that I've ever worked with. We need him."



OFFENSE COMES AROUND


While his average (.220 as of Friday) and OBP (.320) haven't exactly exploded, his power numbers (10 homers) are well ahead of the usually reliable projections (13 homers) in the 2009 Bill James Handbook. His RBIs and runs are well ahead of last year's numbers, too.


At 37, regardless of whether he can stay above the Mendoza Line, Varitek remains invaluable to the Red Sox.


"With him offensively, and I think he's done a great job for us offensively, that's kind of your added bonus," Masterson said. "You look at him out on the field and what he does behind that dish ..."


Even in spring training when it was uncertain if he could bounce back, the team was singing his praises.


Pitcher Tim Wakefield called Varitek "the general of our team." Pitching coach John Farrell said he's "the leader of our staff."


Ace Josh Beckett remarked then, "If you don't quite feel 100 percent about something and he's suggesting that, it makes you extremely comfortable because I've never seen anybody work harder than him in knowing what he's doing."



MAN IN CHARGE


Varitek has taken charge since his days as a three-time All-American at Georgia Tech. The 1994 National College Player of the Year, whose No. 33 was retired by the Yellow Jackets, spent his senior season dispelling the myth that an amateur catcher's responsibilities were limited to blocking balls in the dirt and throwing out runners.


"I might've called five pitches total the whole year," said head baseball coach Danny Hall, whose first year at Tech was Tek's last.


With only a handful of talented hurlers on the roster, the Ramblin' Wreck advanced to the 1994 College World Series before falling to Oklahoma. (Full disclosure: Tech did have Jay Payton and Nomar Garciaparra.)


"He got more out of that pitching staff," Hall said of Varitek, "than anybody could get out of them."


Hall guessed that without Varitek in '94, the Yellow Jackets would've had 10 fewer wins.



GETTING THE MOST OUT OF THINGS


Two World Series titles, a rare captainship, and almost 1,400 games later, Varitek's objective remains the same.


"The first job of a catcher is to get the most out of the pitcher," said Boone, who's third on the all-time list of games caught with 2,225. "That's his absolute job. People get caught up in offensive numbers, but at the end of the day, it's all about how your pitchers did."


They are doing quite well. Boston has the best record in the AL (40-27 through Friday), the fourth best ERA (4.19), the most strikeouts (513) and the third best strikeout-to-walk ratio (2.2-1).


Having an abundance of young, live arms - like Boston does - is important. But Varitek's work isn't taken lightly. When Masterson got called up to the Sox last season, the catcher was there to help ease the transition.


Masterson said, "The first thing he said to me is, 'Hey, don't be afraid to shake (me off). If you don't want that pitch, then tell me you don't want that pitch, because I want you to throw what you want to throw.'"


If Masterson's in a bad mood, Varitek will head to the mound and make the pitcher laugh.


"Other guys, he might get up in their face," Masterson said. "It's amazing. Every pitcher is their own individual type of person. He does a great job understanding that they're all different."



AN ART FORM


What Varitek's doing at 37 isn't exactly unique for elite catchers. Ivan Rodriguez, who just broke Hall of Famer Carlton Fisk's games caught record, is still going at 37. Fellow Hall of Famer Gary Carter, who's fourth on the all-time games caught list with 2,056, played until he was 38. Fisk himself played until he was 45. He's now second on the games caught list with 2,226.


"It's all about conditioning for your job," said Boone, who retired in 1990 after 19 seasons in the big leagues.


That sounds easy enough. But Boone, whose younger son, Aaron, is still cursed in these parts for his 2003 ALCS Game 7 heroics with the Yankees, turned to unorthodox methods.


In the 1970s, Philadelphia Phillies strength coach Gus Hoefling turned Boone on to kung fu, which improved his focus, strength and range of motion.


Not only did Boone last in the majors until he was 42, he played the entire 1980 World Series with a broken foot. Once, he said, his back spasms were so severe that he didn't take batting practice. For the entire season.


"Guys get hurt all the time," Boone said. "How you keep yourself from getting hurt, it's really an art form. You have to be really tough."


Aside from injuries that derailed his 2001 (elbow) and 2006 seasons (knee), Varitek has stayed healthy enough to carry on.


Hall last saw Varitek at the catcher's home. It was shortly before spring training and, Hall said, "he was in the best shape of his life."


"I'm ready to go," Varitek told Hall that day.



A GLUTTON FOR PUNISHMENT


"Catching five or six days a week," Hall said, "that's just a tremendous amount of punishment on your body."


That would explain all the ice packs.


"That's part of knowing himself and knowing how to take care of his body right," Red Sox backup catcher George Kottaras said. "That's what he does and it works out for him."


To Kottaras, Varitek is always accessible.


"I can just approach him whenever," Kottaras said. "... He's always prepared. He studies the hitters. He studies the pitching. It's helped to show me how to do it myself.


"There's so many things that can go wrong (as a catcher). You just have to keep yourself strong."


So after every game, Varitek becomes the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man. The routine just comes with the territory.


"If you want to be a catcher," Boone said, "you kind of wear it."