Jorge Alfaro on working with Jason Varitek: ‘It's like a dream come true’
New catcher Jorge Alfaro grew up rooting for the Red Sox. The Columbia native used to watch Red Sox versus Yankees games when they were available on tv. Now he gets to wear Boston across his chest for the upcoming season.
In an interview with Sean McAdam of the Boston Sports Journal, Alfaro talked about his connection to the Sox.
"We didn't have too many games to watch on TV,'' recalled Alfaro, "and most games were Yankees vs. Red Sox. So you become a fan of one of those teams. I've been watching (the Red Sox) since I was a little kid, when Manny Ramirez, Big Papi, Pedro (Martinez) all those guys…Jason Varitek. I watched all of those guys growing up, so when I had a chance to sign with this organization, I was excited to be with this team.”
On Sunday, Alfaro was able to work with one of the players he grew up watching. The 29-year-old completed one-on-one drills with Varitek.
“Man, whenever he gives me advice on anything, it's like a dream come true,'' said Alfaro. "Watching him play when I was a little kid and now having the opportunity to work with him, it's a blessing. You just have to listen and learn whatever you can from that guy. I will never say no to anything about catching. Whatever can help me to get better, I'm always going to put my work into that.”
Alfaro struggled with past balls the last couple of seasons. Varitek and manager Alex Cora are hoping with a few tweaks, he’ll fix those issues.
"We're trying to get back to catching on one knee,'' Alfaro said. "I'm just going to work on that and (do) the best that I can.''
Boston has Reese McGuire and Connor Wong as their expected catchers on the big league roster. There’s some within the organization that believes Alfaro will end up seeing the bulk of time behind the dish this season, per source.
The Red Sox know Alfaro’s bat translates at the big league level. If the 6-foot-3 catcher can improve defensively behind the plate, he should have no problem eventually winning the starting job.
"He'll tell you that he needs to get better receiving-wise,'' said Cora. He has a cannon and obviously, he’s a good athlete. He hits the ball hard.”
Follow Chris on Twitter @ChrisHenrique
For additional Red Sox, Bruins, Patriots, MLB and NFL content follow Beyond the Monster on Twitter @BeyondtheMnstr.
