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 worked himself into such a good pitcher that the Pirates couldn’t ignore this knuckleballer any longer.
But that’s not why I loved Tim Wakefield.
It’s what happened next.
He flat out sucked in 1993.
He didn’t even appear in the major leagues in 1994.
But he never gave up.
He met with pitchers like Phil and Joe Niekro who had thrown the knuckleball.
Then he worked some more.
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.
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 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.
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.
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.
Show up to work and when you’re there, do the best that you’re free to.
You may fail one day but that doesn’t mean you’re free to’t succeed tomorrow.
