This Is His Team by Jared Carrabis
Sox, Varitek agree to one-year deal with an option for 2010


This is his team.

Since Jason Varitek first arrived in Boston in July of 1997, he made it his responsibility to help pave the path to a winning tradition. Since first entering the baseball spotlight in 1984 as a part of the Altamonte Springs, Florida Little League Baseball squad that made it all the way to the world championship game, Varitek must have felt as if this would be the pinnacle of his baseball career. What could top being in the Little League World Series in the mind of a 12-year-old?

Little did Varitek know that he had a whole lifetime worth of memorable baseball moments to come.

Being the brains behind a Major League record four no-hitters and two World Series titles later, Varitek has already stamped his place among the legends in Boston sports history. The captain (2005-present) of the Boston Red Sox has officially agreed to a one-year deal to return to his team in 2009 with an option for the 2010 season.

The terms of the deal are as followed. Varitek will make $5 million guaranteed in the upcoming 2009 season. As far as 2010 is concerned, he has both a team and a player option in his newly agreed upon contract. If the Red Sox decide to pick up his team option, Varitek will again be rewarded with $5 million. If for some reason the Red Sox are not interested in picking up his club option in 2010, the Sox backstop has a player option that if he chooses to stay, he can return on his own power for $3 million.

If Tek is to return in 2010 no matter what the starting salary, he can earn an extra $2 million in performance incentives. The incentives focus on his playing time as the Sox aim to reward the captain based on the durability that he will try to provide to the club throughout the remainder of his tenure with the club. The maximum bonus of $2 million will be paid out if Varitek can start an expected amount of games with the minimum to be rewarded any bonus being 80 games.

So the soap opera is finally over. The man that has caught more games for Boston than any other backstop in Red Sox history will be adding to his legendary numbers in 2009 and hopefully beyond. With the re-signing of Jason Varitek, the 2009 Red Sox are locked and loaded as the captain was the final piece to the puzzle. With the hopes of Red Sox fans around the globe, the boys from Boston now are ready to storm back into October where they belong behind the leadership of their captain, Jason Varitek.

Published on January 30, 2009

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