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Red Sox' Varitek Retires
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After 15 years with the team, Red Sox catcher and captain Jason Varitek has retired.
An emotional Tek, who made the announcement Thursday at Jet Blue Park in Ft. Myers, Fla., said he's glad to retire as part of the Red Sox organization.
"As I walk away from this game I can look at the man in the mirror and be proud that I gave everything I could to this game, this organization, my teammates," he said.
The man behind four no-hitters said a future position with the team remains up in the air.
"We're still discussing and hopefully as we continue to do this we'll figure out a role to maintain and to stay involved," Varitek said.
Varitek first debuted with the Sox in 1997. Since then he has played 1,546 games, hit 193 home runs, and had a .256 career batting average.
In 2004, Varitek stuck his catcher's mitt in the face of New York Yankees slugger Alex Rodriguez, helping to spark the Red Sox to one of the most amazing playoff comebacks in baseball history.
Only David Ortiz and Kevin Youkilis remain in Boston from the 2004 World Series team.
Click "Listen Now" for Bob Oakes' conversation with baseball historian Glenn Stout about Varitek.
This article was originally published on March 01, 2012.