Silver and Gold
Lost in the shuffle yesterday was the awarding of Silver Slugger trophies to David Ortiz, Manny Ramirez, and Jason Varitek. Recipients of the award are selected by major league managers coaches; each position has one winner. Ortiz and Ramirez have both carried the vote multiple times, garnering their second and eighth awards respectively. Ortiz also won the Hank Aaron award recently for being the best all-around hitter in the league, and the accumulated accolades are beginning to feel a bit like consolation prizes for not winning the MVP vote, which will likely be the case for the Red Sox designated hitter. The AL MVP will be announced November 14th. This was the first year Varitek was so recognized. Boston had the most players on the Silver Slugger team; New York and Texas followed closely with two teammates each.
Today Varitek was recognized for his defensive prowess with his first Gold Glove honor. The first thing that sprang to my mind was the captain blocking home plate to keep Jack Wilson from scoring on June 17th in an interleague game against the Pirates. The Red Sox catcher is regarded as the best game caller and is also reknown for his conscientious preparation for each outing. Just nine more and he’ll tie Johnny Bench and ten more until Ivan Rodriguez, who had won the award 11 out of the past 13 years. It was the first Gold Glove for Boston since 1991, when Tony Peña, another Red Sox catcher, was so recognized.
Of course, we’d prefer other hardware, or a general manager. Heck, how about a functional baseball operations office? Until then, have some new baubles that can be trotted out by the Red Sox public relations office to occupy and amuse the masses, albeit briefly.
