Jason Varitek Wins AL Gold Glove

There has been a lot of discussion here about Theo Epstein leaving town and who the Sox will go after to become the team?s new general manager. To break everyone from this hot topic, I?m proud to say that Jason Varitek has won the American League Gold Glove award for the 2005 season. It?s a long time coming, that?s for sure. The last Red Sox to win a Gold Glove was Tony Pena back in 1991 for his fantastic defensive season as the Boston catcher. Pena finished that season with an impressive .995 fielding percentage, while only totaling five errors. Here is a breakdown of the last five Gold Glove winners, including Varitek?s 2005 season:

As you can see, Varitek?s 2005 season hasn?t been the best compared to the other four years, but it has been very good. His 2004 season was actually his best defensive season to date, when he was charged with only two errors resulting in a .998 fielding percentage. Compare that to Rodriguez?s 2004 season, it obviously trumps it. Some experts say that Gold Glove winners are usually a year late. That would explain Varitek winning this year, Rodriguez in 2004, and Rodriguez in 2001. If you look at each of the winners and their previous season, it?s obvious they didn?t win in their statistically-best season.

Varitek adds another notch to his track record. How many more will he add? Hopefully a lot more, because he deserves every single one of them.