Tim Wakefield

Years ago, I was on a subway in New York City enroute to a Yankee-Red Sox game with my friend Sanford Lewis when I began a conversation with a Yankee fan much younger than myself.  Because of the frequency of players trading teams, I told him it was difficult to keep track of which ones were on what team. I mentioned everyone knew what team the greats from the past played for such as Ted Williams, Yogi Berra and Mickey Mantle.  He agreed with me stating that we no longer root for the players but for a uniform.  What he meant was players no longer had a loyalty to the club they first played for if they could sign a more lucrative monetary contract with another team. 

The late Tim Wakefield, Red Sox hurler, to his credit, honored on opening day at Fenway Park in Boston, did not follow this pattern of switching teams.  Tim did not start his career with the Sox but rather with the Pittsburgh Pirates.  In the early ’90s he struggled, but was demoted to the minors, and finally released in 1995.  Subsequently, he signed on with the Red Sox, developed a knuckleball, and soon after, found himself once more in the major league with Boston.  During his time in Boston, he fell in love with the city where he met his wife, Stacy, and with her, had two children, Trevor and Brianna.  He became very much involved in charitable work, helping out the Jimmy Fund, the monies of which went to the pediatric care of cancer patients. 

Regarding Tim’s pitching career with the Red Sox, he played on two World Series winners in his 17 seasons at Boston.  There he resurrected his career in performing quite admirably throwing his choice pitch, the knuckleball.  During the unforgettable playoff series with the Yankees in 2004, when the Red Sox, in a legendary effort, overcame a 3-game deficit, Wakefield showed himself to be the ultimate team player: He sacrificed his turn to start in the 4^th game, by telling Terry Francona, Boston manager, to put him in as a reliever in the 3^rd game, saving the bullpen.  The game was a Yankee rout, 19-8, of which Wakefield and the rest of the Sox pitching squad got blasted.  However, this move was essential in the Sox conquest of the Yankees insofar as Games 4 and 5 each required extra innings that necessitated prolonged use of the Red Sox bullpen.  The Red Sox triumphed in those games, along with the 6^th and 7^th games, to make a comeback, considered to be one of the greatest of all time, and win the series from the Yankees 4 to 3. 

After having been pummeled by the Yankee batters in the 3^rd game, in the 5^th game,Wakefield’s knuckleball totally baffled the Yankee hitters.  As the last Boston reliever in the game, he pitched three scoreless innings, to receive the win after 14 innings, 5 to 4.  The winning run came on a single by David Ortiz after the game had lasted close to 6 hours.  That Wakefield could come back and make such a huge effort in the win showed his grit and determination.

In the following year, Tim was already 38 years old and in the final season of a 13-million-dollar contract he had signed.  Although he did not wish to retire, he did not want to leave Boston, where as earlier mentioned, he was involved with much of the charity work he oversaw.  Because the reserve clause that kept players on the same team had been superseded by player free agency, Wakefield could have left the Red Sox to receive a better offer from another team.  However, because of his love of Boston and the Red Sox organization, he and his agent, Barry Meister, agreed to a one-year guarantee, below his market value, if he were to be picked up by another club.  This contract had the option of renewing each year paying Wakefield the same amount.  Meanwhile, Wakefield’s pitching continued to shine in the subsequent years so it turned out to be a great deal for the Red Sox, who named the agreement a perpetual option.

Tim retired at the ripe “young age” of 45 in 2012.  His loyalty to the Sox, a decision never made by other players, kept him with them, allowing fans to root not only for a “uniform” but also a player they cared about.

It was fitting that in the Sox home opener, celebrating Tim, the ceremonial pitch before the game started was thrown by Brianna, Tim’s daughter, to the ex-Red Sox catcher, Jason Varitek.  Because Wakefield’s knuckleball could be hard to catch, Doug Mirabelli, who had a special glove, was the regular catcher, during the season, when Tim pitched.  However, in the playoff series against the Yankees in 2004, Terry Francona, then the Boston manager, needed Varitek in the lineup.  He was a much better hitter than Mirabelli and, fortunately for the Sox, was able to catch Wakefield’s unpredictable knuckleball in that 5^th game. This allowed the Sox to return to Yankee Stadium and to win the last two games in that amazing series.