While, even as a Red Sox fan, I don't think Tek deserves to make the team, it seems like everyone bases All-Star Selections on hitting. I mean yes he SUCKS at the plate right now, I see it every night, but there is still no one in the league who as good as a game caller as him. There is another portion to the game other then hitting.
That's a good point about the catcher having more to a game than just hitting numbers. He probably gets more benefit from the "intangibles" than most players. Problem is that so far nobody I've read has agreed with the choice. And that's regardless of who voted him in. Why not take Pierzynski (sp?) from the White Sox? He's got much better numbers offensively, seems to be having a better defensive season, and the Pale Hose pitching staff has some pretty decent numbers.
You're clearly looking at this from as objective a POV as possible, and I am not nearly as familiar with the game's players today as I once was. Maybe Varitek has the intangibles that the AL players like. I don't know.
True about Pierzynski, he does have much better numbers, and should be the one on the team. But, Tek has the reputation of being a very, very good pitch selector, and game caller, and I think the other pitchers around the league know that. There is a reason he is the only catcher in the history of MLB to catch 4 no hitters. There are intangibles and a confidence level there that pitchers have with him, that I don't think is there with every catcher. I remember in '06 when he went down many of the Sox pitchers struggled, and one of them, IIRC it was Mike Timlin, stated that he and other pitchers almost didn't feel as confident to throw their best stuff with another catcher behind the plate.
I read in the paper this morning, that yesterday, the day after Clay Buccholz first start in the majors in a while, Varitek sat down with him at Tek's locker for about two hours, and just talked to him about himself and his pitching. Evidently Tek did the talking, and Buccholz did the listening, and I think that it is that care, not just with the vets, but with the new guys coming up, that endears him to so many players.
I mean I think those are the reasons, if there are some, that Varitek is on the team over others. I mean compared to other defensive positions, there is a lot more that goes into catching, and I think that weighs on Tek's hitting.
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