Red Sox Nation knows that Jason Varitek, captain extraordinaire and beloved member of the Red Sox, was a kick-ass catcher. Well, as of yesterday, so does the rest of the world. On Monday, Varitek picked up his first Silver Slugger award, joining Manny Ramirez (8th time winner) and David Ortiz (2nd time winner) as the first three Red Sox to win the award in one year. Yesterday, Varitek became the first Red Sox to win a Gold Glove since catcher Tony Pena in 1991.
Basically, what winning these awards comes down to is that the man who regularly dons the mask behind home plate for Boston is a catching machine, a baseball powerhouse sent from the future to help drive the heart of the order, block the plate, bring the best out of neurotic pitchers with his ability to call a game and outsmart the other team with his wily planning and insight into the abilities of opposing hitters. I hear he’s pretty good at taking down card-shark wannabes, too.
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