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NEWS > SPORTS > JASON VARITEK FOUND TALKING TO SELF AT PLATE; TO UNDERGO PSYCHIATRIC EVALUATION

JASON VARITEK FOUND TALKING TO SELF AT PLATE; TO UNDERGO PSYCHIATRIC EVALUATION

November 23 2008

Boston, MA  – Three time all star catcher Jason Varitek has been ordered to undergo a psychiatric evaluation by Major League Baseball after multiple incidents through the 2008 season where he was caught talking to himself at the plate. League officials have made the assessment of the catcher a prerequisite before the free agent is allowed to sign with another team.

“Our top priority has been and always will be the health and well being of our players. Jason is as important a player as we have in the league and we want to ensure that he is healthy both physically and mentally,” said a spokesperson for Major League Baseball. “Jason will undergo a thorough psychiatric evaluation and once he is given the all clear he will again to be able to pursue free agency and continue his phenomenal career.

Varitek has played the bulk of his professional career with the Boston Red Sox, with whom he won two World Series, one silver slugger, and one Gold Glove. He became a free agent after the conclusion of the 2008 season.

Reports from opposing teams had been surfacing over the course of the previous season that the catcher had been repeatedly talking to himself while catching. It is common practice for catchers talk to batter, generally as a psychological strategy. Varitek, though, was apparently talking during time outs and even when batters had shown signs of not listening.

“I’d be up there and not paying any attention to him and he’d just go on and on. No matter how much I ignored him he just kept talking,” said New York Yankee player who preferred to remain anonymous. “One time I even said to him ‘Jason, I’m not listening so you might as well shut up’ and he just kept going. Talking to yourself when you’re alone is one thing, but doing it in public is something else. He’s a good guy; I hope he gets the help he needs.”

This incident comes amidst continued turmoil in professional baseball. With steroids still front and centre, the last thing the league needs, according to many experts, is a wave of mental illness amongst its players.

“This kind of thing has been spoken about in hushed tones for a number of years. It takes a major player like Varitek to bring it to the forefront,” said Scrape TV sports analyst Mark Marvins. “For years these kinds of things have popped up and not just with catchers. We are seeing more and more issue coming from third basemen and designated hitters. Sitting around doing almost nothing for four hours a day for 162 days a year is going to wear on even the strongest of psyches. Baseball may have a real issue here if they don’t start taking a proactive approach to helping these players that are obviously in need of help.”

League officials denied there was any widespread issue in the league, simply stating that the Varitek issue was an isolated one.

“The policy with the MLB has been to bury its head in the sand when it comes to any potential issues. They should have learned their lesson with the steroid issue. If they had dealt with it early it wouldn’t have exploded the way it did,” Continued Marvins. “They need to look at the other leagues as an example. The NFL has had a program in place to counsel place kickers and punters for years. The NHL regularly counsels back up goaltenders. Baseball just needs to take an honest assessment of themselves for the long term health of the league.”

We attempted to contact Varitek for comment, but apparently for the first time he wasn’t interested in speaking with us.     

Alexi Orton, Sports Correspondent

NEWS > SPORTS > JASON VARITEK FOUND TALKING TO SELF AT PLATE; TO UNDERGO PSYCHIATRIC EVALUATION