His Lake Brantley High School baseball team won the Florida State Championship his senior year in 1990 and was named the number one high school baseball team in the nation by a USA Today poll.
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Varitek instantly became a leader in the clubhouse which management tried to portray as working class, featuring new faces such as Kevin Millar, David Ortiz, Bill Mueller, and Todd Walker along with original players Trot Nixon and Lou Merloni.
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Does not count the five-inning, rain-shortened no-hit game by Devern Hansack in 2006 (which is not considered an official no-hitter).
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During a nationally televised game on July 24, 2004, Varitek shoved his glove into the face of the Yankees' Alex Rodriguez after Rodriguez was hit by a pitch and gestured towards pitcher Bronson Arroyo, causing a bench-clearing brawl.
In 1994, he played baseball on a Washington team that played Georgia Tech in the College World Series regional finals and featured future Major League Baseball players Jason Varitek and Nomar Garciaparra.
The trade was designed to fill a hole caused by the recent injury to Jason Varitek.
Jason Mraz | Jason Alexander | David Jason | Jason Robards | Jason Grimshaw | Jason Kidd | Jason Kenney | Jason Isaacs | Jason Statham | Jason Newsted | Jason | Jason Priestley | Jason Aldean | Jason Scott Lee | Jason Schwartzman | Jason Mewes | Jason Ritter | Jason Donovan | Jason Bourne | Jason Aaron | Jason Williams | Jason Reeves | Jason McCoy | Jason McAteer | Jason Derulo | Jason Blaine | Jason Biggs | Freddy vs. Jason | Jason Williams (basketball, born 1975) | Jason Voorhees |
Selected by the Mets in the first round (29th pick) of the 1994 amateur draft, Payton hadn't fulfilled the great expectations he projected Georgia Tech when he was drafted in the first round with fellow All Americans and Teammates Nomar Garciaparra and Jason Varitek, due in large part to four surgeries while in the minor leagues.