Story by
Jason Varitek ‘like a dad’ to Red Sox players; ‘He’ll always be there for us’
- Story by
- Jason Varitek ‘like a dad’ to Red Sox players; ‘He’ll always be there for us’
TORONTO — Catcher Connor Wong worked countless hours with Jason Varitek on his defense over the past six years. But to Wong, Varitek was so much more than a coach.
“We always say he’s like a dad to us,” Wong said before Boston’s game Tuesday against the Blue Jays .
Advertisement
The Red Sox fired manager Alex Cora and five other coaches — Ramón Vázquez, Pete Fatse, Kyle Hudson, Dillon Lawson and Joe Cronin — on Saturday evening. Meanwhile, the team announced in a press release that it was reassigning Varitek to a different position and he would no longer serve in his role as game-planning and run-prevention coach.
Sources indicate that Varitek effectively faced the same fate as his six colleagues despite the Red Sox referring to it as a reassignment, MassLive’s Sean McAdam and Chris Cotillo reported Sunday night . MassLive also reported that Varitek told confidants he’s not planning on staying in the organization.
“I couldn’t be more thankful to have been around him and been able to learn from him,” Wong said. “Since day one, he’s just always there for you and you felt that. And you felt like he always had your back. We were just really lucky.”
Wong said Varitek had a ton of influence on his career and said it was a privilege to be able to work with him day in and day out for the past six years.
Advertisement
“It was really tough,” Wong said. “But at the same time he’s got that big heart, and like I said, he’s like a dad to us, and I think he’ll always be there for us. If we need anything, we can reach out. It was really difficult, and it’s just the sad reality, but he wouldn’t want us to sulk about it. He wants us to move forward and be the best that we can be, so that’s just what we have to do.”
Varitek played his entire 15-year big league career (1997-2011) with the Red Sox. Boston acquired him from the Mariners with Derek Lowe for Heathcliff Slocumb on July 31, 1997.
The Red Sox Hall of Famer was in his 30th season in the organization as a player, executive, and coach.
Varitek’s personality changed when he went from a player to a coach. He became more relaxed and talkative after retiring. He said in 2021 , “I’ve learned to enjoy some levity in the game and enjoy certain pieces. But I still have my serious side. That’s the only way I knew how to function as a player. Yeah, you’d be serious when you played. But organically, I was just quiet when I was in that mode. When that mode was shut off, that’s when I talked.”
Advertisement
Wong enjoyed getting to see the more relaxed and talkative side of Varitek.
“He’s a big kid,” Wong said. “Just a really big kid. Huge heart. But when it boiled down to it, he could get really serious. And I think that’s what makes him who he is.”
More Red Sox coverage
Read the original article on MassLive . Add MassLive as a Preferred Source by clicking here .
