Sunday night, Josh Beckett was in Fenway Park to play the first opening game of this year’s 2010 MLB season. However, on Monday, he was in Fenway Park for another reason – to sign a $68 million four-year extension with his current team, the Boston Red Sox. Josh Beckett has agreed to and signed a deal with the Boston Red Sox that will keep him as a pitcher with the Red Sox through 2014.

Beckett, 29 years old and number one start for the Red Sox, will see a $5 million signing bonus as well as more than $15 million as an annual salary for the rest of his contract extension. Not too shabby seeing as how it’s more than a $3 million raise annually over this year. However, he does realize that if he would have waited until winter came around when he was up for free agent that he probably could have gotten more, but he wanted to avoid that. He said that he wanted to remain part of a winning team and to steer clear of becoming a diversion. This is definitely not the thinking of many players, but Beckett looks at these types of things differently than other players and rather than looking at what he can get, he looks at what he has already gained.

The Red Sox made it to postseason three of the four years that Beckett has been with the team. In 2007, the team won the World Series. There will be plenty more chances to add more World Series wins to that list containing the 2007 victory as Beckett isn’t the only starter that is signed and locked in with the Red Sox through 2014 as John Lackey and Jon Lester are as well.

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