Tim Wakefield Has Passed Away At 57 Years Old

Tim Wakefield was my favorite player. He wasn't the best player I have ever seen. But he was the most relatable. He threw this remarkable knuckleball which made pitching look so much easier than it actually was. His whole story is something you'd find in the fiction section of the bookstore. But it all happened. It's so sad the story had to end with a tragedy.

Wakefield was a first baseman in the minor leagues with the Pirates. He batted .189 in his first season in the minors in 1988 and was at risk of getting cut. He asked to try out this knuckleball he had always been messing with and he got a chance to get in 18 games as a pitcher the next season in low A ball…and wasn't bad. He worked at it for five seasons in the minors and didn't make his MLB debut until he was 25 with the Pirates. He worked himself into such a good pitcher that the Pirates couldn't ignore this knuckleballer any longer. He got called up on July 31st and went 8-1 with a 2.15 ERA and led the Pirates to the NLCS. He threw two complete game wins in the playoffs that the Pirates would lose in 7 games to the Braves.

But that's not why I loved Tim  Wakefield. It's what happened next. He flat out sucked in 1993. The Pirates who had just lost Barry Bonds to free agency desperately needed Wakefield to come up big again and he just didn't have the same feel for the pitch. He didn't even appear in the major leagues in 1994. But he never gave up. He kept working. He met with pitchers like Phil and Joe Niekro who had thrown the knuckleball. He worked. Then he worked some more.

He joined the Red Sox at 28 years old and wound up becoming the all-time team leader in Innings Pitched. He's 3rd all-time in wins behind only Cy Young and Roger Clemens. No pitcher on the 2004 Red Sox had more wins in franchise history than Tim Wakefield. That's the same Tim Wakefield who when the team was getting destroyed 19-8 in Game 3 to the Yankees in the LCS was willing to give up his start the next day to save the bullpen. The ultimate teammate chooses the greater good of the team over ego. I strive to do this in my everyday life.

Not every season was a great success like 1992 or 1995 was. Some years were a struggle. He was yo-yoed out of the rotation from 1999-2001. He was even the closer for a couple months in 1999. He just kept showing up to work. He kept pitching. He kept being a great teammate.

He was also very charitable. Few pro athletes in Boston did more for the Jimmy Fund. He would visit the kids who were sick and then stay longer and talk with the parents as well. He understood cancer is truly a family disease. How cruel that it is cancer that ends up taking his life. But if anything, it shows how worthy those efforts are and the battle against cancer is something we do need to keep investing in. 

I've never met Tim Wakefield. I've only seen him pitch. I've only been a fan. But I cared for him. I loved his journey. Gives up a homer to Aaron Boone in 2003 (despite pitching brilliantly in that series)? He comes back the next year and beats those same Yankees because he was selfless. Then he wins ANOTHER ring in 2007 because having a pitcher than can start 31 games and win 17 even if he's 40 is so valuable. 

Maybe it's childish or weird to love someone you've never met but I loved Tim Wakefield. I named my dog after him. I didn't do it because he was the best pitcher but the best person who could pitch. He lived a life that I admire so much and strive to work towards.

Be a great teammate. Be kind. Be charitable. Show up to work and when you're there, do the best that you can. You may fail one day but that doesn't mean you can't succeed tomorrow. 

Godspeed Tim Wakefield.