Photo: Jim Rogash/Getty Images
- Adam ParkerStanding just in front of home plate and wearing a suit instead of his usual catcher's getup; Jason Varitek formally brought an end to a career late Thursday afternoon where he served as the rock of the Red Sox for 14 years.
Varitek became the second cornerstone member of the Red Sox to retire in the past two weeks, joining innings eater and knuckleballer Tim Wakefield.
"My decision to retire wasn't something that I took lightly in any sense of the word, nor do I want to do it more than once" said Varitek, who routinely paused as he became emotional during his retirement speech. "This has probably been the most difficult decision that I've had to make in my career. But the opportunity to be able to start and finish my Major League career in one place is why I'm standing here today."
Agent Scott Boras went against his usual grain and didn't even field offers from other teams because he didn't want to mislead any of them. There was simply no way that Varitek was ever going to don another jersey.
"You have not only been our captain, you have been our rock. You have personified the rugged, aggressive, fiercely competitive style of play that has characterized our club during your tenure," Red Sox chairman Tom Werner said.
During his speech, Varitek thanked a laundry list of people who helped him along the way, from his Little League coaches to the baby sitters who watched his three daughters, his family, the clubhouse staff, and, of course, bullpen coach Gary Tuck.
The Red Sox offered the 39-year-old to come to camp on a minor league deal, and Varitek briefly looked at other teams as well. But in the end, the chance to play his entire career with one team from start to finish ultimately won out.
"I still trained and tried to get myself ready," Varitek said. "I love being able to play. I love the competition on the field, the chess game behind the plate. It's not easy."
Perhaps fittingly, Varitek is leaving the game at the same time as longtime Yankees catcher Jorge Posada. The two became fixtures behind the plate in the late 1990s, on opposite sides of the most heated rivalry in baseball, and spent the next decade and a half as the steadying forces behind their star-studded teams.
"I'll tell you what, Jason was unbelievable," said David Wells, who pitched for both Boston and New York. "He was a guy who came prepared every day. It's just a shame that I didn't have him catch me longer because he's almost right there with Jorge. Jorge is my guy, and will always be there, but just the way Jorge prepared, he did his homework and Jason was the same way."
Varitek said Posada reached out to him this week after the news of his impending decision broke.
"You see a lot of games and you butt heads quite a bit," Varitek said. "His job is to make sure we get out, my job is to make sure they get out and our job is to make sure each other gets out. But you can respect what you have to do behind the plate and the little things."
It's hard to imagine the man many Red Sox fans refer to as 'Tek' without that No. 33 jersey with the "C" stitched on his left shoulder.
As a Yankees fan myself, Varitek was the main staple and leader of so many Red Sox teams that I loved to hate (but still respected) over the years. He was the glue that held everything together and seeing both he and Posada hang them up at the same time signals the end of an era for me as a fan of this great rivalry.
"As I walk away from this game, I can look in the mirror and be proud that I gave everything I could to this game, to this organization, to my teammates," Varitek said.
Congrats on a phenomenal career, Jason. We here at Beard and Stache wish you all the best in your future endeavors.
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