Receivers on the rise
( Baseball Weekly ) Seth Livingstone; 06-14-2000
Jorge Posada and Jason Varitek have caught on as first-class backstops through work and perseverance, adding a new dimension to a classic AL rivalry
ROGER CLEMENS' FASTBALL glanced off catcher Jorge Posada's black-and- tan Wilson mitt and struck his right knee with such force that it split his shin protector.
Suddenly, the vocal Yankees fans at Atlanta's Turner Field for an interleague matchup last week were hushed.
Posada crumpled to the ground on all fours and the Yankees' bench could only cringe along with their catcher, hoping the injury was not as terrible as the expression on Posada's face.
''That's not a guy you want to lose,'' manager Joe Torre says. Fortunately for the Yanks, Posada's knee was only bruised and kept him out of action for a few days.
Torre was obviously relieved the next day, even managing to inject a bit of humor into the situation. The pitch had been to Greg Maddux, and Torre told reporters: ''When I ran past Maddux on my way to check on Jorge, I told him, 'Everything with you has to be at the knees.' ''
How important is Posada to the Yankees? About as important as his counterpart, Jason Varitek, is to the Boston Red Sox.
As the two AL East rivals battle again -- a three-game series ends June 14 -- both catchers are crucial to their team's success.
There are a lot of debate-stirring matchups within this most storied rivalry in baseball. Take your pick:
Pedro and the Rocket.
Nomar and Derek.
Carl Everett and Bernie Williams.But so far this season, the most indispensable performers on the Red Sox and Yankees are:
Jason and Jorge.This might not be Thurman Munson vs. Carlton Fisk quite yet. Even so, 25 years later, the Yankees and Red Sox rely heavily on two of the most improved catchers in the game -- players whose offensive numbers are above average at their position.
And there is a mutual respect for these rising stars.
''No question, Varitek has meant a lot to that ballclub,'' Torre says. ''Jorge, probably because he's come through the New York Yankees chain, has had a lot more publicity. He's had the tag to be a superstar type of guy. But Jason Varitek, no question, is a quality guy, a durable guy, like we expect Jorge to be. There are a lot of similarities there. It looks like the Red Sox pitchers are very comfortable with Varitek behind the plate, and that's half the battle.''
Boston manager Jimy Williams says: ''These two guys are good. Posada has improved immensely. You look at his numbers, his throwing skills, what he's done for that Yankees team. They're both switch-hitters and they've both got power.''
The 29-year-old Varitek is a dead-serious workaholic with the prototypical catcher's build. Strong and sturdy with a pair of oak trees for legs, he's most often found studying pitching charts in front of his locker, swinging a bat or working in the weight room. Rarely does his mustache- goatee admit a smile.
''Maybe sometimes I need to take a step back from that and let myself enjoy things a little bit more,'' he acknowledges. ''But I feel there' s no other way to get my job done. That's a part of me just trying to make sure I'm focused. I think I got that from my parents. When I was a kid I was always told that anything I do I should do at 100- 110% or there's no sense in me doing it.''
''I find it hard to remember any catcher who works any harder than Varitek does,'' says veteran Boston first baseman Mike Stanley, a former catcher. ''Whether it's during infield practice or if you need someone to catch and your second baseman wants to take some throws, he doesn't just sit there and catch, he works on his exchange. Catchers, for the most part, just hang around and mill around in the outfield during BP. But he's trying to get something accomplished.''
It's little things. Before taking his rips in batting practice, Varitek grabs a bat and mounts the narrow dugout steps this day at Pro Player Stadium. Without moving his feet, he levels it one way, then swivels his hips and levels it the other, gently practicing his swing from both sides of the plate.
''I know if I took a step in or a step out I'd fall off the steps, '' he reasons. ''It's just a little trick I use to get me used to starting out swinging evenly.''
The 28-year-old Posada, in contrast, is more wiry, more likely to crack a smile, more likely to incur ribbing from his teammates.
The catcher just smiles and shakes his head. He knows he's an easy target -- which is OK if you happen to be the starting catcher for the world champs.
He's also quite intense when the situation dictates.
Says Torre (who refers to Posada as ''Jorgie''): ''The only thing I try to do now with Jorge is just to remind him it doesn't have to be 110% all the time. Let's get down to 80 or 90%, because he tends to want to do too much at one time. What a lot of young people have to know is to let the game come to you. Enjoy it and calm down a little bit.
''Catching is the toughest position, especially when you're going to catch a veteran staff. It's important that he have the confidence, the communication skills -- all those things that you need to be successful as a catcher.''
One thing they have in common is the drive to succeed.
''Something I see in both of them,'' says Yankees' TV analyst and former catcher Tim McCarver, ''is their fervent desire to improve.' '
POSADA DREAMED of being a shortstop when the Yankees drafted him in the 24th round in 1990.
''I loved Barry Larkin, his athleticism, and Tony Fernandez, who was so smooth receiving the ball,'' says Posada, who didn't don catching gear until '92.
''I always thought I was going to be a shortstop, but deep down I knew I wasn't going to make it up here as a shortstop. My dad was the first one who said, 'You're going to end up behind the plate because you've got a very good arm and you're very smart when it comes to calling a game.'
''When it came to catchers, I always loved Thurman Munson. I always had videos of him. My dad loved Munson because of his number. He always wore 15.'' (Posada wears No. 20.)
Posada was brought along slowly -- eight games with the Yanks in 1996, then 60 in '97, 111 in '98, and 112 last season. During those years, he split time with Joe Girardi, who's now with the Cubs.
Baseball, of course, was always in Posada's blood. His father, Jorge, is a scout for the Rockies. His uncle, Leo, was a batting instructor in the Dodgers' system.
''My father knows me better than anybody,'' he says. ''He can tell me over the phone what I'm doing wrong.
''My dad had everything planned for me. When I started walking, I had bat in hand, ball in hand. I started switch-hitting when I was 7 years old. He said, 'You're going to start hitting left-handed.' It came real easy because I was so young. I hit left-handed all the time until I was about 13 and faced my first left-handed pitcher. He said, 'Go ahead and hit right-handed now.' That came natural because right is my natural side.''
His father's plan has given Posada a lively bat. After returning to the lineup, Posada clubbed his 11th homer at Montreal, then his 12th to break a 5-5 tie Saturday against the Mets. Not only was he batting .326 through Sunday, he was leading a pretty fair Yankees lineup in slugging percentage (.601) and was third in the AL in on-base percentage (.452).
''It's pretty obvious that his confidence is really booming because of the way he's hitting the ball,'' Clemens says. ''You want Jorge to hit. You want to make his job that much easier when you're throwing to him so he's comfortable to hit, and vice versa. When he is hitting, I think he's more comfortable behind the plate.
''Defensively, he's always been good. Jorge works hard on his defensive skills and, as a pitcher, you appreciate that. Take my forkball with a man at third. He'll call it any time with his confidence to block it -- even tap the ground sometimes, wanting me to bounce it to him. I've had catchers in the past who would shy away from that pitch with men at third.''
More than anything, it has come down to a matter of confidence for Posada, who was given an idea by Torre in January that he'd be the Yanks' main man. His conversation with his manager came just before his marriage to Laura, someone he says fuels his competitive fires by beating him at board games.
''Joe is very clear with all of us,'' Posada says. ''He tells us like it is. He's always been honest. So when he said, 'Are you ready to catch 162 games?' I started laughing.''
The Yanks committed themselves to Posada despite the fact that his numbers tailed off last season. He went from 17 homers in 1998 to 12 in '99. ''His first half was treacherous,'' Torre admits. ''He was terrible defensively. He was terrible offensively (.210). He wound up hitting .245, but it was all in the second half. So, he had a good second half for us last year -- something that was necessary because, obviously, we put on a run to win the thing.''
Torre, a former Gold Glove receiver, knows a thing or two about evaluating catchers. He had no doubt Posada could be his No. 1 guy. ''When we let Girardi go, we made that commitment to him,'' Torre says. ''I didn't give him a number of games he'd catch. I just remember calling him over the winter to tell him he was the everyday catcher and saying, 'I hope you're getting some rest, because you're going to be working a lot once the season starts.' ''
Rest wasn't Posada's approach, though. He spent the offseason working out with the man acknowledged to be the best today, Texas' Ivan Rodriguez, and his trainer in their native Puerto Rico.
''I'm going to be with the best catcher in the big leagues. I've got him right here in Puerto Rico, so why not?'' Posada reasoned.
''Ivan has been great talking to me about little things you need to hear every once in a while,'' Posada says. ''He'll say, 'You've got to be tougher,' 'Do that,' or 'Do this.' Every once in a while he would say something that would stay in my head. Working around him, being around him, seeing how he took care of his body and prepared for the season helped me a lot.''
Best of all, Torre says, was that Posada ''got off to a good start this season. I think that sort of relaxed him. I talked to him over the last couple of years, letting him know that his time would come -- because he's a very impatient young man, like most young people are. I told him to just be patient.
''We saw this coming for a couple of years. Even though Jorge caught most of the games, Girardi was a nice safety net for him. Once Girardi' s contract ran out and he went free agent, we knew this was going to be Jorge's team and his pitching staff.''
''I think it was good that I went through what I did last season,' ' Posada says. ''I grew up and became more mature. But if I didn't have Joe Girardi and (catching instructor) Gary Tuck around, I would have been all over the place.''
Observes McCarver: ''Jorge Posada, breaking into the big leagues, was handled expertly by Joe Torre.
''I'm not particularly one for a platooning situation behind the plate because I think pitching is too important to do that, but that tandem (with Girardi) was handled about as well as any catching tandem could be.''
''The bottom line is he's playing,'' says Derek Jeter, Posada's closest friend on the team. ''We drive to the field every day and last year was tough for him. He felt he had to get four hits every day or he wasn't going to play. Then you start pressing a little bit. Now, whether he goes 0-for-4 or 4-for-4, he's playing the next day.
''Whenever you struggle, everybody's trying to tell you everything. That's tough. But I played with him in the minor leagues, and everybody knows what he's capable of doing. He's just got to play. I don't care who you are -- if you don't play every day, you can't get into a groove.' '
VARITEK didn't establish himself as Boston's No. 1 catcher until last season, when he hit .269 with 20 home runs in 144 games.
In 1998, Boston signed Jim Leyritz, expecting he'd handle much of the duties. But Varitek impressed manager Williams so much in spring training that he soon became part of a platoon with Scott Hatteberg.
''Hattie became the No. 1 guy,'' Varitek says. ''I didn't even think I had a chance to make the team. I just did what I always do -- play hard -- and Jimy liked what he saw.''
''He made that decision for me in spring training,'' Williams recalls. ''That's when we had Jim Leyritz, who, to me, was a good player for our team. But I used that spring training to evaluate players. I was looking for something and I saw it. I just felt Varitek should be on our team.
''They said he couldn't hit left-handed, but that spring he showed me something when he hit a homer, left-handed, against Toronto up in Dunedin (Fla.). I felt maybe there was something that this kid has that maybe other people haven't been able to get out of him. Maybe it was (hitting coach) Jimmy Rice helping him a lot or his work ethic, trying things. I just believed in him.
''There was always something about this kid I liked. I guess it was his enthusiasm. I remember when he first came up at the end of the season in '97. He got one at-bat and got a base hit in Detroit. I can still see it -- a one-hopper between third and short. I liked his focus and concentration, pitch in and pitch out, inning in and inning out, game in, game out. He has a plus arm, loves to catch and has imagination behind that plate. You have to have imagination.''
You also have to have a chance to play in order to improve.
Varitek's development was likely slowed by his decision, in concert with agent Scott Boras, not to sign with the Twins when they made him a first-round pick (23rd overall) out of Georgia Tech in 1993. The Mariners took the three-time All-American with the 14th pick in 1994, but didn't get him on the field until 1995. Contractural decisions had cost Varitek up to a season and a half of professional experience.
''You can't take at-bats away from guys, and I missed some game experience, '' Varitek concedes. ''I missed out on a season of at-bats. That could have been 500 at-bats. Did it slow me down a year? I don't know.''
But Varitek insists he has no regrets based on the way things worked out.
Seattle traded him to Boston, along with pitcher Derek Lowe for Heathcliff Slocumb at the 1997 trading deadline. It's a deal which remains one of Boston general manager Dan Duquette's shining accomplishments.
''I might not have ever gotten a chance to play in Boston and play for Jimy if none of that happened,'' Varitek says of his holdout. ''That (playing for Williams) is what's gotten me here. The man has instilled a lot of confidence in me. He knew I had the will to play and the will to win. It was a matter of time until I figured everything else out.''
Varitek, a third baseman in high school, admits he wasn't ready to catch in Seattle and credits instructor Roger Hanson for making him a respectable defensive receiver.
''I don't even know how many hours we spent working on my receiving, working on my throwing, working on my balance,'' Varitek says. '' He just kept on me. Things were so difficult for me.
''When I started, I couldn't catch Lowe's sinker. The ball would go right by me. It was frustrating. But he kept working me and said, 'You're going to see the light at the end of the tunnel one day.' At the time, I didn't believe him, I couldn't get the ball to second accurately to save my life. It was just a lot of things. I know the more and more I catch, the more and more I play, the better I become.' '
Lowe, now Boston's closer, remembers those frustrating days for Varitek, who never hit above .262 or topped 15 homers in three minor league seasons but whose batting average currently flirts with .300.
''We were in Double-A at Port City (N.C.), and he really had a hard time with my sinker and my breaking ball, which was maybe just a little bit above average. Because he relied on his bat when he was in college, I think it was difficult for him getting put directly into Double- A ball. Most guys start in Class A and work their way up. But he just worked his fanny off. Everyone knew he had the talent to become a good catcher, but I think he's exceeded what some people thought he would do.''
FOR THE MOST PART, Varitek and Posada are handling veteran pitchers -- some of the best in the business at that. Varitek has the confidence of everyone from Pedro Martinez to knuckleballer Tim Wakefield. Posada, meanwhile, has built a relationship with the likes of Clemens, Orlando Hernandez, David Cone and Mariano Rivera.
''They all know more than me,'' says Posada, assessing New York's veteran rotation. ''I just try to make suggestions out there. I know what they have to do to be successful. When you're aggressive behind the plate, calling a game, that's when you're at your best. You can' t be tentative.
''They're going to shake you off. If they have a feel for a pitch, they're going to throw it. I have no problem with that. It's part of the game. You've got to take it well and hopefully they make the right decision. Sometimes when you want to throw a certain pitch and they want to throw something else and you think the pitch you're calling is the right one, you've got to go out there and let them know: 'Hey, I think this pitch is better than what you're thinking.' ''
Varitek gets high praise from Martinez: ''Jason is one of the most improved players in this game right now. Jason is a complete catcher -- a star, one of the best in the big leagues. You cannot judge Jason by his average or his hitting. You have to think about the game he calls, about the things he does -- his defense, his sequence (of pitches), his knowledge of the game and the way he handles the game back there. I pitch my own game, and Jason calls whatever he thinks I would like to throw. We're pretty much in agreement most of the time.''
Stanley and Leyritz have caught alongside both Posada and Varitek. They agree that the progress of both young catchers comes with them getting the chance to play regularly.
''It gets back to playing time,'' Stanley says. ''It's great to see both guys, who worked so hard, getting a chance. People always wanted to know what the big change was when I went from my '92 to my '93 season. They wanted to know if I'd done extra weightlifting. How did I jump from eight home runs to 26 home runs? I said all you have to do is just look at the at-bats.''
''When Posada was just coming up in '96,'' Leyritz recalls, ''you could see the kid had talent. It was just a matter of harnessing it the right way, getting him to know his potential. It's confidence that gets you to the next level.
''I think Jason Varitek is the same way. I had Jason (in Boston) and he wasn't supposed to be the catcher that year. I was supposed to do most of their catching. I give him credit. He was very good with me as far as talking with me, trying to learn things. We'd be sitting on the bench during a game watching Hatteberg catch and Jason would be saying, 'What would you do here? What do you think about this?' ''
''Varitek's catching abilities continue to impress me,'' Stanley says. ''Guys (opponents), when they get to first base, talk about his arm strength. Usually those are comments reserved for Pudge (Rodriguez), but people are now starting to talk about the great arm strength he has. When given a chance, he's pretty deadly at throwing guys out. I just don't think our pitching staff gives him enough opportunity. Oftentimes he makes it close. The other day he threw a missile to make it close, but he had no chance. I would say the majority of the ones they steal are off our pitchers.
''Posada's a guy who I didn't know how good he was when I played with him because his opportunities weren't there. Now I see him as a bona fide hitter with power. He's getting a chance to play every day and hitting .340-.350, leading that team in slugging. To even think about him doing that before this season would have been a pretty far cry.' '
Varitek believes he's getting better but still has a way to go.
''I've improved most notably in my game-calling and my pitch selection, and I'm really learning, offensively,'' he says, noting that he sees tougher pitches this season. It's one reason he's been limited to just two home runs. ''Good things happened for me last year. This year I've had to make a big adjustment. They just went after me last year. I've got to progress -- keep taking steps. I'm probably a little further behind Jorge, offensively.
Having catchers younger than age 30 at the top of their games is an asset for any club. It's one of the factors that separates the Yankees and Red Sox from the rest of the AL pack. Chances are they'll continue to improve for at least a few more years.
''Johnny Bench became a better catcher toward the middle to end of his career,'' McCarver says. ''Rodriguez is the same way. They're so gifted from the get-go. But most guys have to work, and you have to understand that you're part of the most important aspect of baseball. That's pitching.''
That's why Posada and Varitek are so indispensable, and perhaps that' s why the Red Sox and Yankees have ranked 1-2 in ERA in the AL the last two seasons. It's also why they're likely to battle right through October.
Seth Livingstone, Receivers on the rise. , Baseball Weekly, 06-14-2000, pp 07.