December 27, 2004
That's Respect
During his negotiations for a new contract, Pedro Martinez repeatedly made a big deal about wanting to get "respect" from his team. But most everyone eventually realized that for Pedro "respect" only meant "money".
Jason Varitek made no secret of the fact that, in these latter days of his playing career, he wanted to be well-compensated for his outstanding contribution on and off the field. But Jason never whined, or moaned, about respect. And in the end Jason got his payday, and what's maybe more, he received a real show of respect from the team.
The contract concessions that the owners made, and being named official Team Captain are a genuine recognition of what Tek means to his teammates, and to all of Red Sox Nation.
Posted by jackhodgson at December 27, 2004 09:48 AM