Jason Varitek

Jason Andrew Varitek (nickname: Tek) was a major-league baseball catcher who played all 15 seasons of his major-league career for the Boston Red Sox (1997-2011), a switch-hitter who threw right-handed. Varitek was a member of two World Series winners for Boston, in 2004 and 2007. After retiring as a player, he continued to work for the team and, as of 2023, served as game planning coordinator for the Red Sox.

Varitek was born on April 11, 1972, in Rochester, Michigan, the second oldest son of Joe and Donna Varitek. His family moved to Longwood, Florida, when he was 7. He has three brothers, Justin, Joe, and Jared.

Jason’s parents and extended family were highly supportive of his sporting endeavors, and he credited growing up in such an atmosphere as a pivotal foundation to his success. The entire family, extended family, and family friends, helped with carpooling to games and practices. Jason played multiple sports as a youngster, but settled primarily on baseball at around age 6 or 7.

Varitek is one of only three men to have played in a championship game of the Little League World Series, the College World Series, and the Major League World Series. (Ed Vosberg and Michael Conforto are the others.)1 In 2020 he was inducted into the National College Baseball Hall of Fame.2

At 12, Jason played in the 1984 Little League World Series for the Altamonte Springs, Florida, team, and helped lead his team to victory in the US Championship bracket, beating a team from Southport, Indiana. His team made it to the international championships, ultimately losing to a team from Seoul, South Korea.

In a 2023 interview, he said: “For a 12-year-old boy, this was about as great an experience as you can go through. I was extremely fortunate for the coaching staff that taught these young men the fundamentals of baseball. Two-a-day practices. This carried me through life. Fun and hard work. We lost in the finals, and it was on national television. A special time for that age group.”3

In high school Varitek was a third baseman and catcher for the Lake Brantley High School baseball team in Altamonte Springs. He was also a catcher on the 1992 US Olympic team.4

In college Varitek helped lead the Georgia Tech baseball team to the 1994 College World Series championships (along with teammates Nomar Garciaparra and Jay Payton).

He was named Baseball America’s 1993 College Player of the Year. In 1994, he won the Baseball America College Player of the Year Award and the Dick Howser Trophy for National Collegiate Player of the Year.

Varitek was an all-American in 1992, 1993, and 1994, earned first-team all-Atlantic Coast Conference honors each of those years and was named Atlantic Coast Conference Player of the Year in 1993. In 1994 he won the Golden Spikes Award, honoring the nation’s top amateur baseball player, and was the national collegiate player of the year.

Varitek is the only Georgia Tech player to have his jersey number (33) retired. He holds the Georgia Tech records for career home runs (57), runs scored (261), hits (351), doubles (82), RBIs (251), and total bases (610). His career batting average of .384 is fifth-best in Georgia Tech history.5 He graduated with a degree in management.

The Houston Astros offered Varitek a six-figure deal out of Lake Brantley High School, but he turned down the deal and committed to Georgia Tech.6 In 1991 and 1993 (in 1992 Varitek was a member of the US Olympic team), he played in the Cape Cod Baseball League with the Hyannis Mets, winning both the league batting championship (.371) and the 1993 MVP Award. He was drafted 21st overall in the first round by the Minnesota Twins in 1993, but the deal fell through, and he returned for his senior year of college. 

After college graduation, Varitek signed with agent Scott Boras and was drafted by the Seattle Mariners in the first round of the June 1994 amateur draft (14th pick overall). The Mariners sent him to their Port City Roosters (Wilmington, North Carolina) in the Double-A Southern League and played for them in 1995 and 1996. In 1997 he was promoted to the Tacoma Rainiers of the Triple-A Pacific Coast League and batted .254 with 15 homers and 48 RBIs in 87 games.

On July 31, 1997, Varitek and pitcher Derek Lowe were traded to the Red Sox for reliever Heathcliff Slocumb, a trade that would go down as one of the most important in recent Red Sox history7 and one of the worst in Mariners history. Varitek later said that both he and Lowe were quite untested: “He was a one-pitch pitcher, and I couldn’t catch, hit, or throw.”8

Varitek played in 20 games for the Triple-A Pawtucket Red Sox in 1997 and made his major-league debut on September 24 in Detroit and collecting his first big-league base hit. The Red Sox held a 9-2 lead over the Tigers after eight innings. With a man on first and one out, manager Jimy Williams had Varitek pinch-hit for catcher Scott Hatteberg, facing Detroit’s Kevin Jarvis; on the second pitch, he singled to left field. He caught the bottom of the ninth.

Varitek spent the 1998 as Hatteberg’s backup, playing in 86 games and batting .253 with 7 home runs.

The 1999 season brought changes to the lineup; starting catcher Hatteberg was injured and out of action for three months. Varitek played in 144 games and batted .269 with 20 home runs and 76 RBIs. In 2000 Varitek supplanted Hatteberg as the Red Sox starting catcher, playing 139 games, batting .248/10/65.

Varitek got off to a strong start in 2001, and was batting .293 through 51 games, but his season ended after June 7, when he broke his right elbow. He was already seen as a key member of the team, dubbed by Boston Globe columnist Dan Shaughnessy as the team’s “True North.”9  Hatteberg returned as starting catcher. In December 2001, Hatteberg was traded to the Colorado Rockies for infielder Pokey Reese. Varitek’s future as Boston’s starting catcher was solidified. Over the following eight seasons, he averaged 127 games per season.

By the 2003 season it was clear that Varitek was a team leader, with a strong influence over the baseball club and team. That season was a career best for Varitek, and he was named an All-Star for the first of three times. He became a fan favorite as well. He finished the season with a .273 batting average, 25 home runs, and 85 RBIs. The Red Sox played deep into the postseason, losing to the New York Yankees in Game Seven of the League Championship Series.

The 2004 season began with a new manager (Terry Francona) and a new team that it was hoped would carry them further.

The season started well, but by midseason the Red Sox were struggling from numerous issues (including injuries and defensive woes). In the top of the third inning of a nationally televised game against the Yankees on July 24, Red Sox pitcher Bronson Arroyo hit Álex Rodríguez with a pitch. An argument ensued and Varitek shoved his glove in Rodríguez’s face, attempting to hold Rodríguez back; Rodríguez reacted aggressively, and a scuffle broke out with both teams running out on the field. Both Varitek and Rodríguez were ejected. The Yankees built a 9-4 lead, but the Red Sox scored an 11-10 comeback victory. This is often regarded as the turning point in the Red Sox’ season; they posted the best record in the majors after the incident. It’s worth noting that the photograph of the tussle between Varitek and Rodríguez became one of the most iconic images in modern day Red Sox iconography.

Varitek finished the regular season with a career-high .296 batting average, with 18 home runs and 73 RBIs.

The 2004 American League Championship Series saw the Red Sox and Yankees meet again in postseason play. The Red Sox had fallen behind their rivals, three games to zero, including a devastating 19-8 loss in Game Three at Fenway Park, but the Red Sox rallied and won the last four games of the series. It was the stuff of legends – the first time a team had rallied from an 0-3 deficit to win a playoff series. Varitek drove in seven runs in the seven games.

The Red Sox swept the St. Louis Cardinals in the World Series to win their first World Series in 86 years. Varitek’s two-run triple in the first inning of Game Two help set the Red Sox on the path to a 6-2 win.

In December of 2004, the Red Sox honored Varitek by naming him just their third captain since 1923 after signingin him to a $40 million, four-year deal. Varitek was unaware of the honor until he was presented with home and road jerseys bearing a red “C.” Varitek’s strong work ethic, hard-driving devotion and substantial influence led to the designation. (The role of team captain is now honorary, but in the past it came with management and coaching responsibilities.)

The 2005 season was another banner year for Varitek, with the Bleacher Report calling it “the best all-around year in Varitek’s career.” He batted .281 with 22 home runs and 70 RBIs. Varitek made his second All-Star team and won a Gold Glove Award and a Silver Slugger Award. “It is worth noting that ’Tek had not previously, or since, won another Gold Glove or Silver Slugger Award,” Bleacher Report said.10 The team fell short in the postseason, losing to the Chicago White Sox.

Before the start of the 2006 season, Varitek appeared in three games for the US team in the 2006 World Baseball Classic. On July 18 he played in his 991st game for the Red Sox, eclipsing catcher Carlton Fisk’s Red Sox record. The crown gave Varitek a standing ovation. In his 1,000th game, on July 31, he was injured, requiring surgery to repair torn cartilage in his left knee. He was out until September 4.

The 2007 season saw Varitek reach his 1,000th career hit. The Red Sox returned to the World Series and again swept their National League opponent, the Colorado Rockies. Varitek had 5 RBIs in the four games.

The 2008 season saw Varitek play 131 games, with 43 RBIs, 13 home runs, and a .220 batting average..

By calling Jon Lester’s no-hitter on May 19, 2008, Varitek became the first major-league catcher to have caught four no-hitters. In 2015 Carlos Ruiz of the Philadelphia Phillies caught his fourth no-hitter, matching Varitek’s total. Had it not been for a 1991 rule change in the definition of a no-hitter, Varitek would be credited with five. On the final day of the 2006 season, he caught Boston’s Devern Hansack, who allowed no hits in a 9-0 win over the Baltimore Orioles. The game was called after five innings, however, and the 1991 criteria required nine. As had been noted, “It’s in the books as a complete game, a shutout, and there were no hits by the Baltimore batters.”11

Varitek’s batting numbers fell off in the 2009 through 2011 seasons, and he retired as a player after the 2011 season, having appeared in 1,546 games over his 15-year playing career with a .256 batting average and 193 home runs.

As a switch-hitter, he batted .247 against right-handed pitching, but .278 against left-handers.

Varitek, one observer wrote, holds an “impressive place in Red Sox history, placing 10th in games played and doubles, 10th in runs batted in, 11th in home runs and at-bats, 14th in walks, 17th in hits, and 17th in runs scored.”12

Perhaps most important, according to another writer, “his on-field actions helped lead a generation of Red Sox fans to believe that beating the Yankees was possible.”13

From the playing ranks, Varitek moved into the Red Sox front office as a special assistant to the head of baseball operations and catching instructor. His influential presence and hard work ethic was a natural fit for team management. His responsibilities included “major league personnel choices, evaluations, and mentoring and training of young players.”14 

In 2018 Varitek was listed as special assistant to the president of baseball operations, and in 2020 as special assistant/catching coach. In November of 2020, he was designated as game planning coordinator on manager Alex Cora’s coaching staff, and in 2021 was named player information coach.

The position of game planning coordinator largely deals with the analysis of player analytics, in conjunction with implementing strategies between the Red Sox starting pitcher and the catcher; catching coach entails game planning regarding pitching and catching. As Alex Speier of the Boston Globe wrote about Varitek: “[T]he role of game planning coordinator was a natural outgrowth of a combination of his skills, his role in recent years, and the explosion of information in the game.”15

Red Sox manager Cora has publicly acknowledged Varitek’s coaching talent, going as far as saying in 2021 that Varitek “will manage in the big leagues. He will. But it’s a process, and we talk about it. I think, with time, somebody’s going to give him a chance and he’s going to kill it. He’s going to be great. I have so much respect for him. We’ve got a friendship and we like each other and he has been amazing to me through the whole process. He was there for me.”16

In November of 2022, the Red Sox signed Varitek to a multiyear contract extension, a team source confirmed to the Globe’s Speier. Varitek’s wife, Catherine, first broke the news on Twitter, noting that the former captain had signed up to remain with the Red Sox for the next three years. “You’re officially stuck with him!” she tweeted.

As of 2023, Varitek was listed as the Red Sox game planning coordinator/catching coach.17  

Varitek has been married twice and has four children: three daughters from his first marriage to Karen Mullinax, Ally, Kendall, and Caroline, and one daughter, Liv, from his marriage to Catherine Panagiotopoulos. Catherine frequently updates followers on social media about Varitek and his career.

As of 2023 the Variteks reside in Hingham, Massachusetts, having previously lived in Suwanee, Georgia, northeast of Atlanta.

When Varitek retired after 15 seasons as a player, he was the fifth-longest tenured player in Red Sox history behind Carl Yastrzemski (23 seasons), Ted Williams (19), Dwight Evans (19), ﷟and Tim Wakefield (17).18  

In the 2023 interview, Varitek was very matter-of-fact. There was no mincing of words. He offered a perspective on helping the 2004 Red Sox finally win a World Series after an 86-year drought: “Anyone who knows anything about Boston, it wasn’t easy. It took the entire organization, and generations from the past. Ted Williams, Dwight Evans. Took everyone, took everything. Toe the line. Rivals. The stepping stones were laid by the greats. One of the most surreal moments of my life. Wasn’t easy getting there.”19

Sources

In addition to the sources cited in the Notes, the author consulted Baseball-Reference.com.

Notes

1 Vosberg pitched for the 1997 Florida Marlins and Conforto was an outfielder with the 2015 New York Mets. Varitek (who was with the Red Sox in both the 2004 and 2007 World Series) and Vosberg were on the winning team in their respective World Series.

2 “Jason Varitek Becomes First Little League Baseball World Series Graduate Inducted into the National College Baseball Hall of Fame,” LittleLeague.org, September 9, 2020. Jason Varitek Becomes First Little League Baseball® World Series Graduate Inducted into the National College Baseball Hall of Fame – Little League. Accessed September 29, 2023.

3 Author interview with Jason Varitek, February 17, 2023.

4 The US team was eliminated in the semifinals by Cuba, the ultimate winner.

5 “Varitek, Garciaparra Highlight Tech Hall of Fame Class,” RamblinWreck.com, July 30, 2004. Georgia Tech Athletics – https://ramblinwreck.com/varitek-garciaparra-highlight-tech-hall-of-fame-class/.

6 Brian McTaggart, “How the Astros Missed Out on Tek Support,” MLB.com, May 25, 2018. https://www.mlb.com/news/astros-missed-on-jason-varitek-in-1990-c278343114.

7 Peter Abraham, “Duquette Recalls Bringing Jason Varitek to Boston,” Boston Globe, February 28, 2012. https://www.bostonglobe.com/sports/2012/02/28/duquette-recalls-bringing-jason-varitek-boston/Xh27MPWuirtn1OuSQ4UJHP/story.html.

8 Tony Massarotti, “’Tek Support,” Boston Herald, April 28, 2002: B24.

9 Dan Shaughnessy, “Team Caught Short by Varitek’s Injury,” Boston Globe, June 9, 2001: G1. Shaughnessy wrote, “Varitek has emerged as the True North of this baseball team. He’s tough and he’s clutch. … Only Manny Ramirez is a more valuable everyday presence on the active roster. Pitchers love throwing to Varitek.” He added that “a switch-hitter catcher is every manager’s dream.”

10 Christopher Benvie, “Boston Red Sox: Top 10 Greatest Moments of Captain Jason Varitek’s Career,” Bleacher Report, February 16, 2012. https://bleacherreport.com/articles/1066338-jason-varitek-ranking-10-greatest-moments-of-red-sox-captains-career.

11 Bill Nowlin, “Devern Hansack,” SABR BioProject. https://sabr.org/bioproj/person/devern-hansack/.

12 Lewis M. Brooks III, “Blog #76: Red Sox News: Jason Varitek Retires,” lmb3.net, March 7, 2012. https://lmb3.net/2012/03/07/blog-76-red-sox-news-jason-varitek-retires/. Accessed September 28, 2023.

13 Jake Devereaux, “All-Time Red Sox Roster: Jason Varitek,” Over the Monster.com, April 21, 2020. https://www.overthemonster.com/2020/4/21/21229251/boston-red-sox-all-time-roster-jason-varitek-no-hitters.

14 Lee Schecter, “Breaking Down Jason Varitek’s Past, Present and Future Impact on Boston Red Sox,” Bleacher Report.com, February 25, 2013. https://bleacherreport.com/articles/1543205-breaking-down-jason-variteks-past-present-and-future-impact-on-red-sox,%20February%2025,%202013.

15 Alex Speier, “What Exactly Does Jason Varitek Do as the Red Sox ‘Game Planning Coordinator’?” Boston Globe, March 18, 2021. https://www.bostonglobe.com/2021/03/18/sports/what-exactly-does-jason-varitek-do-red-sox-game-planning-coordinator/?p1=BGSearch_Advanced_Results.

16 Chris Cotillo, “Jason Varitek Has Increased Presence for Boston Red Sox in New Coaching Role: ‘He Will Manage in the Big Leagues, Alex Cora Says,” MassLive.com, February 26, 2021. https://www.masslive.com/redsox/2021/02/jason-varitek-has-increased-presence-for-boston-red-sox-in-new-coaching-role-he-will-manage-in-the-big-leagues-alex-cora-says.html.

17 https://www.mlb.com/redsox/roster/coaches.

18 David Dorsey, “Jason Varitek on Retirement: ‘My Decision Wasn’t One I Took Lightly,” Fort Myers (Florida) News-Press, March 1, 2012. https://www.masslive.com/redsox/2012/03/post_13.html.

19 Varitek interview, February 17, 2023.