Valentine: 'Don't Think A Captain Is Necessary'
BOSTON (CBS) – New Red Sox manager Bobby Valentine already has a team captain. And if he opts not to join the team, Valentine doesn't see it necessary to name another.
"Has he showed up yet?" Valentine responded when asked if he would be naming a team captain on Wednesday.
The Red Sox "C" currently belongs to Jason Varitek, as it has since 2005. The free agent catcher currently has an invite to Red Sox Spring Training, but is mulling whether or not to take it.
It's likely the 39-year-old will retire, and if he does, Valentine will be in no rush to assign that "C" to anyone.
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"If Varitek doesn't show up, I haven't planned on that. If the team thinks a Captain is a cool thing, I think that can be considered," Valentine said from Fort Myers on Wednesday. "I don't think a captain is necessary. And then again, I don't know that it's so necessary that you can't live without it."
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The Red Sox have had 19 captains during the franchise's history, with Varitek the first since Jim Rice held the title from 1985-1989.
"You can win a World Series without a captain," Valentine noted.
