Red Sox Catching Duo Charged Up For 2011
FORT MYERS, FL (CBS) - One of the more interesting stories from Red Sox Spring Training comes from behind the plate.
Victor Martinez is gone, and in his place is 25-year-old Jarrod Saltalamacchia. Mainstay Jason Varitek is there to back him up and pass along the knowledge he has amassed from a 13-year career.
Teammates have compared the two, and a lot of that has to do with catching coach Gary Tuck. He runs a very tight system, and put Saltalamacchia through a rigorous workout on framing and blocking the plate on Tuesday.
Saltalamacchia Talks About Learning From Varitek
Like Varitek, Saltalamacchia is a switch-hitting catcher. This will be his first shot at a full-time starting job at backstop, much like Varitek did when he found his way onto the Sox major league club back in 1998.
It will be an interesting spring for each of them as they adapt to newer roles. Saltalmacchia only got to catch six games for Boston in 2010 before being sidelined with a thumb injury. Both are very confident and had nothing but great things to say about each other.
Varitek Sings Praise Of Saltalamacchia
The duo should be a lot of fun to watch this season, and it will be interesting to see how Saltalamacchia catches on to his new team and role.
