If you are one of those people who likes to hold on to the past for as long as you can (and you’re a Red Sox fan) this off-season might not be the best time for you.
This week the Red Sox signed free agent catcher Kelly Shoppach to a one-year contract. Â The general belief is that he’ll replace veteran catcher (and Red Sox team captain) Jason Varitek in a platoon with Jared Saltalamacchia while the “catcher of the future” Ryan Lavarnway finishes developing into the next Tek down in Triple A Pawtucket in 2012.
Shoppach was drafted by Boston in 2001and then traded in 2006 to the Cleveland Indians as part of a package that brought Coco Crisp, David Riske and Josh Bard to Boston. Â His offense is nothing to write home about but he’s very good defensively (General Manager Ben Cherington called the team’s inability to throw out most base runners last year a “concern”) so fans can be pleased with this acquisition. Â The main problem for some fans will be that adding Shoppach to the team almost absolutely means that Jason Varitek won’t be back.
A glance at the current 40-man roster and then one at the 2004 roster shows that the only two players on both are David Ortiz and Kevin Youkilis. Â Aside from Varitek, the only other player hanging around from 2004 is Tim Wakefield, also a free agent this year.
The chances of either Varitek or Wakefield coming back in 2012 seem slim at best. Â They are painful reminders that the shelf life of an athlete is never as long as we’d like them to be, regardless of how long they’re in the game. Wakefield made his MLB debut in 1992 and turned 45 this year. Â Varitek debuted in 1997 and will turn 40 in 2012. Fans might want to hold on to pieces of the past but there has to be a time when you can say goodbye.
If Varitek and Wakefield end up leaving Boston, they leave behind legacies that include two world championships and years of community charity work. Â For years they were the heart and soul of the team and it seems that they have accomplished all they can in Boston. Whether they move on to other teams or decide to hang up their spikes and call it a career, it won’t be easy to see them go but for the benefit of the future of this team it might be necessary.
(Originally published on Examiner.com)