Red Sox Name Will Venable Bench Coach, Jason Varitek Game Planning Coordinator
The Boston Red Sox set their 2021 coaching staff, notably adding Will Venable as the bench coach and Jason Varitek the game planning coordinator.
The Red Sox also announced that Ramon Vazquez has been named quality control coach/interpreter and Kevin Walker has been named bullpen coach.
Returning coaches are Dave Bush - pitching coach; Tim Hyers - hitting coach; Peter Fatse - assistant hitting coach; Tom Goodwin - 1st base coach and Carlos Febles - 3rd base coach.
Now that our coaching staff is set, we’re excited to get to work and dedicate ourselves to getting the most out of our players,” said Alex Cora. “Will is a bright, young mind that will add a lot to what is already a strong collection of coaches. I am also pleased that both Jason and Ramón will step forward and play larger roles for us. I am thrilled to have so many great baseball minds on our staff and I look forward to their contributions as we set out to achieve our goals.”
Venable, spent the last 3 seasons on the Chicago Cubs’ major league coaching staff, 2 as a first base coach (2018-19) and 1 as a third base coach (2020). Following a 12-year playing career (2005-16), he joined the Cubs’ front office in September 2017 as a special assistant to the President/General Manager.
Varitek, was named special assistant/catching coach for the Red Sox in September 2012. In that role, he assisted the baseball operations department in major league personnel decisions, evaluations, and the mentorship and instruction of players. Over the course of his 15-year major league career—which was spent entirely with Boston—Varitek appeared in 1,546 games, 10th most in club history, as he holds the franchise record for games caught (1,488). Inducted into the Red Sox Hall of Fame in May 2016, he earned three All-Star selections, served as the team’s captain from 2005-11, and became the first major league catcher ever to catch four no-hitters