Red Sox name Jason Varitek game-planning coordinator
Former Red Sox catcher and all-around Boston legend Jason Varitek has inched one step closer to becoming a Major League manager. For the last few years, fans have been clamoring for the organization to consider him in their management searches. Due to his lack of experience on a coaching staff, he’s never truly been considered, but his new job as game-planning coordinator could change that down the road.
Varitek has remained with the organization even after his retirement from the field in a consulting aspect. He first took a role as a special advisor to the GM and in recent seasons has transitioned into a more hands-on member of the staff. Though he never held an actual title with the coaching staff he can always be seen in the dugout and on the field working with the catchers during practices and warm-ups.
Tek has often been credited as being one of the most prepared backstops in the recent history of the game and has nothing but stellar reviews from those that threw to him. Even now, if you ask anyone that’s currently on the team or even just around the Red Sox, they’ll give a rave review of The Captain. Now that he is a full-fledged member of the coaching team under Alex Cora, he can begin to build his resume to eventually become a big-league manager.
Jen McCaffrey of The Athletic caught up with the Red Sox veteran after his new position was announced and Varitek couldn’t be more excited. His main task as game-planning coordinator will be to have the pitching staff and catchers on the same page and as prepared as possible for the opposition. I couldn’t think of a better job for a guy who spent his entire career analyzing not only his own staff but opposing lineups.
"“It’s constant communication between pitchers and catchers, and my part with the catchers throughout games and in prep work, so we’re all continuing to be on the same page, analytics (department) on down to the player,” Varitek said."
I’ll admit that I’m one of the members of Red Sox Nation that would love to see Tek lead a team but I don’t think the time is right. Let him get some more experience under his belt and when the time is right, make the move. I’d like to see what Cora can do with his second tenure and maybe in a few years if the two sides part ways once again, give Varitek the keys to the castle and let him run wild.
What I’m most interested in seeing is how he and pitching coach Dave Bush rehab this pitching staff ahead of the 2021 season. We all know what the major weakness of this team was over the last two seasons and it sure wasn’t the offense. More often than not this past year the Red Sox lineup had to dig the pitching out of a multi-run deficit almost from the opening pitch. So it’ll be really interesting to see what the two coaches can do with this staff along with the added analytics.
More from Red Sox News
- Red Sox Nation deserves far more from Fenway Sports Group
- Bizarre trade deadline comes back to haunt Red Sox after Nathan Eovaldi departure
- Red Sox’ Moneyball-style offseason continues with Corey Kluber contract
- Rich Hill’s Red Sox departure puts him within striking distance of unique MLB record
- Red Sox offseason takes another nasty hit with Nathan Eovaldi departure
"“That definitely would be a hope and always have been working toward,” he said of a manager’s job. “But when you’re not on a full-time basis, you don’t want to sit there and make huge statements or speak of players and stuff, so that would be a great thing to work toward. I’m going to be working hard for Alex and that staff and those players and trying to win right now and trying to do the best I can to do that. There’s no timetable, but this is another big step in being able to be around every day.”"
Having Tek be the guy in charge of preparing the catchers and pitchers as far as their strategy is concerned is a smart move by Chaim Bloom and the Red Sox. I mean, let’s just look at the man’s resume. He’s one of just two catchers in MLB history to have caught four no-hitters. The number of catchers that have even one under their belt is already pretty small, let alone multiple. Having him be totally hands-on with guys like Chris Sale, Eduardo Rodriguez, and Christian Vazquez can only work wonders and be positive.
I feel that in time we’ll eventually see Jason Varitek take the leap and become a manager. In a perfect world, it’d be with the Red Sox but as we all know, we can’t always get what we want. If the opportunity presents itself I’m sure John Henry and Tom Werner would love having another former World Champion at the helm. First things first, Tek will have a lot on his plate getting his squad ready for 2021 and a much-needed bounceback from the last two years.