"Make sure you're physically tough enough," he said. "You've just got to accept it; that's the way the job is. You've got to take a lot of pride in it because there aren't too many guys who can do both."
With the 36-year-old Varitek in his 11th major league season, the Red Sox need to look to the future behind the plate. Although Boston struck gold in acquiring Varitek from the Mariners in 1997 (along with Derek Lowe for Heathcliff Slocumb), finding a franchise catcher is seemingly more difficult than finding an ace.
"Nobody has an abundance of them," said Twins vice president of player personnel Mike Radcliff, baseball's longest-tenured scouting director. "If you get a guy like that every decade, you're probably doing good."
So where are they? And, more important, why is it so hard to find them?
"You have to realize you're two feet in or two feet out," Sox bullpen coach and catching instructor Gary Tuck said. "You can't test the water. You have to sell your heart and soul to the position to be a good one. That's why they're rare. That's why the good ones are rare."
All-around tools and toll
It was usually the fat kid.
With no confidence in his ability to play other positions, he'd head behind the plate, an imposing target, and set up. No matter that he might offer no quickness or soft hands; the best athletes - from Little League to professional baseball - don't usually catch.
"There has been no doubt that most of the real good athletes are shying away from catching because of the wear and tear, and because your success is directly related to your offensive abilities," said Buck Martinez, the former major league catcher and manager. "Those are going to suffer. You play with sore knees and ankles. I think the better athletes are saying, 'This is good, but I don't know if I want to go through it.' "
They could play shortstop or center field instead, glamour positions that aren't so hard on the body. And after taking ground balls or fly balls, they can head to the batting cages, where they really want to be.
