The Impossible Career Of Tim Wakefield

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Edited by @benjamminjackson

[@madethecut]

Do you want to be eligible for the Ronald Acuna Jr signed baseball giveaway? Go to the link (play.underdogfantasy.com/p-made-the-cut) and sign up with promo code MTC. And don't forget, they will also double your first deposit up to $100 as well! Also, apologies for having to edit out the Boone Homer around 11:24. Had a small issue with the footage, but I'm sure you all know what happened!

[@Pallethands]

its @11:16

[@adamnshame95]

Tim Wakefield's first start as a Red Sox came literally 18 hours after I was born. Tim has been a major figure to me and thousands of people in the Boston area who grew up watching that unpredictable pitch and rooting for him everytime he came to the mound. We don't break the curse without him. I will never forget Tim and so many of us are grateful to have gotten to see him at his best. RIP to a one of kind player and human being.

[@bbigjohnson069]

Why is it "literally" 18 hours after you were born not just 18 hours after you were born?

[@bradleyskb]

RIP Wakefield, a true Red Sox in and out, one of my favorites growing up

[@indyspotes3310]

Former catcher Bob Uecker said the best way to catch a knuckleball was to wait for it to stop rolling and pick it up.

[@robertprueter3292]

Wakefield is a great example of a ballplayer the Analytics can't account for. By the numbers he is a solid mid-back of the rotation starter. What the numbers won't tell you is the work ethic and determination a guy like that has, and how that effects his teammates. You might feel defeated, but you know Wakefield is gonna give it his all, so by pride or camaraderie you are gonna fight with him.

[@Patriciobuenisimo85]

Rest In Peace it was great to watch you pitch

[@MYFAVORITES5]

He was a legend. I feel terrible for him and his family, life cut too short. 😢

[@Andy_Babb]

There wasn’t a single fan in Boston who was mad at Wakefield in 2003. We were pissed at the team and the situation, and Grady Little more than anything. But this dude was really respected

[@michaelcorcoran8768]

Absolutely grady little I got all of the frustration. Nobody was mad at Wakefield or even Pedro for that matter

[@Andy_Babb]

@@michaelcorcoran8768 yup, exactly man. We all knew they should never have been in those positions to begin with. Pedro was the most competitive guy in MLB, of COURSE he wanted to pitch. _Tell him no!_ lol And Wake was only in bc they didn’t bother to get a real closer that year - hence Folk the next year. I’m glad Pedro got a ring here bc he really reinvigorated the energy around this franchise, and so happy for Wake simply bc he deserved to win for what he’d given the team. Glad to reminisce with ya 😂

[@alex11361]

As a Yankee fan I couldn’t agree more. I LOVED seeing him on the bump. It was almost a guaranteed win!

[@Andy_Babb]

@@alex11361 he was 3-1 against the Yankees in the post season. If you don’t think Torre would have loved to have a guy like Wakefield to eat up innings while proving 4 or 5 EXCELLENT seasons then you’re nuts. He almost always gave the team a chance to win, esp once we had Manny and Papi going back to back in the lineup. Funny though, bc when Red Sox fans saw the great Mariano Rivera on the mound in a close game we eventually started to feel pretty good about tying it up 😂

[@bostonrailfan2427]

@@michaelcorcoran8768Pedro deserve the ire though, but because he was a fan favorite he gets an unjust pass

[@ReverendBrown.]

RIP TW. You leave behind many wonderful memories for baseball fans everywhere.

[@ARTV-]

RIP Tim Wakefield, there will never be another

[@troyaldrich3365]

I hope one day as a Red Sox fan the Sox retire number 49. Wake did it all for the Sox and did not complain about it. Truly a great teammate.

[@cassiusproductions]

They aren’t gonna retire a number for a guy with only one all-star game appearance. Still a great player tho

[@scottwebb6570]

Never going to happen

[@josh903x]

Sox don’t need to turn into the Celtics & retire every number. Love Wake but he was good not great. Retiring numbers SHOULD be only for great players.

[@gsr2084]

Tim was 186-168 with the Sox....love the guy but those aren't number retiring stats...

[@OH_MY_DOGGG]

​@@gsr2084 I would argue for Varitek. I think his longevity at the Catcher position, 4 No Hitters Caught. 2 World Series.

[@krinnphindalin6803]

RIP to a true legend of the game. Gone way too soon.

[@KWK2022]

Wakefield was a hell of a teammate. He knew his limits, and found ways to leverage his value for the benefit of the teams he was on when it counted. He wasn't flashy, greedy, or arrogant. Just a cool dude, hope the Sox retire his number someday soon.

[@sadie8248]

RIP Tim. One of the greats. You gave me so many great memories as a Red Sox fan. You will be missed.

[@user-gz6gl5lt5v]

born raised and still in Boston he was a legend who never paid for a beer he was a very proud and friendly guy one of the greats of our great city I remember him at the bar treating everyone to a beer a handshake and a smile your truly gonna be missed RIP champ

[@zacharybranch8268]

He was born and raised 5 mins up the road from me in Melbourne Fl lmao

[@ElysianDivine]

RIP Tim Wakefield. A great player and even greater person.

[@user-gz6gl5lt5v]

born raised and still in Boston he was a legend who never paid for a beer he was a very proud and friendly guy one of the greats of our great city I remember him at the bar treating everyone to a beer a handshake and a smile your truly gonna be missed RIP champ

[@TigerofRobare]

A slight correction: Wakefield was selected for the All-Star Game in 2009. He didn't appear in the game. The thing we Boston fans loved about him, though, wasn't his numbers (although they were usually good against the Yankees, which helps), but his selflessness. He did everything he could to help the team win, whether it was going deep into games to save the bullpen, releiving between starts or giving up starts in the postseason.

[@bostonrailfan2427]

it still counts as an all star, even if it gets a footnote regarding his playing in the game

[@mxspokes]

At the end of his career he was on a year to year contract which was essentially "Yes or no, do you want to play?"

[@jacksmiley3959]

I’m so saddened to hear of his loss as a Red Sox fan, this video though has made me so happy to see wake as he was always a hero to me

[@TopherOKeefe]

This is gonna hit differently right now, I’m sure. We will always love you, Tim.

[@jakekrueger7854]

Rest in peace Tim Wakefield 🙏🏻

[@randomcoffeetable777]

Wake is one of the beloved Sox players of his generation. Sure Ortiz, Pedro, Schilling, Manny, Tek and others were better players but Wakefield was special because of his pitch and because everyone knew how great of a guy he was. Always willing to come in, do his job, and support the team however he could, a true professional.

[@bostonrailfan2427]

he spanned generations: he started with the last of the 80s guys and their egos and issues, ended with the new generation of stat producers and obsession with their bodies…all while enduring the steroid guys popping up left and right Ortiz sullied his image with shady actions, Manny was an egotistical jerk who only wanted attention, Pedro was a diva but stopped when he pit on his uniform…but Wakefield and Tek simply didn’t have the issues and played and went home to family

[@miguelreyes8173]

RIP Tim Wakefield. 🙏🏻

[@squidgummies4491]

RIP Tim!

[@ronaldfloyd9396]

RIP Mr. Wakefield

[@JackMihoff_]

Rip to an absolute legend🐐

[@zxcKyle]

This guy was always goated in any video game. MLB the show legend.

[@TheJiggaNasty]

Yeah! He was so fun to play with!

[@tylerfrisbie222]

MLB power pros he was the first guy I always traded for.

[@supermanprime6758]

Literally just posted that

[@UrlacherBears54]

Absolute pain in the ass to run into in 2K.

[@100theDork]

I grew up watching Wakefield and for better or worse i feel so lucky to have been there for it; he’s one of the few pitchers that adapted to whatever was needed from him and from starter to closer you could just tell that those batters did NOT wanna be there 😂 I do remember those games that you’d be so excited he was starting and then maybe 3rd inning and *POP* HOMERUN! Then *POP* HOMERUN! And yep 😂 he didn’t always have his knuckle on deck when we needed it but that’s what I respect so much, in a time when knuckleballers are all but gone he was still pitching playoff games and part of the curse breaking 2004 roster and he got the close! Whoo!! 🎉 You gotta understand the knots from that game haha 😅 One of my favourite pitchers of all time cuz you didn’t know what to expect from him and sometimes you got the feeling he didn’t either 😅 A true legend and so happy he got the recognition he deserved cuz the man was so humble and genuine you just had to cheer him on. 😄 Always a hall of famer to me!

[@mxspokes]

The thing that made Tim Wakefield great was he developed a "Fastball" which was like 82 on the gun and 5000 at the plate, the amount of people who were caught looking by that thing was hilarious.

[@ThatDudeMac]

RIP legend 🙏

[@MrJess1497]

Rest In Peace Tim Wakefield😢

[@thePastafarian88]

Man I'm gonna really miss turning on my TV for a sox game and not having him on the NESN desk. As good of a player he was, he was an even better person. Rest easy 49 ❤

[@hopeless__-ut6tg]

Here after hearing he has brain cancer. Hoping he can heal and fully recover from this soon 🙏🏽 prayers, Tim!

[@24RulezJG]

R.I.P Tim Wakefield. 😥💔🙏

[@rogerhamlett4913]

My favorite player of all time! Have a signed ball by him, thanks to my aunt who met him!

[@TheLegendaryCOD]

R.I.P. Wakefield

[@pgmusicla]

11:16 I think you meant to edit in a clip of Aaron Bone’s Walk-Off Homer that ended Game 7 of the 2003 ALCS here…

[@robbiearroyo2292]

Yeah I got confused there lol

[@silendt]

Yeah, I’m guessing. Was a very confusing edit.

[@chrisman3965]

Die hard Sox fan here, and Wake is in my top 3 all time fav Sox players ever. Great guy, great pitcher and great teammate. I miss seeing him on the mound.

[@troyaldrich3365]

Pedro Ortiz Wake. Legends in Boston forever.

[@bryandjuan]

Rest In Peace

[@nomar5spaulding]

My brother and his college friends went to Game 1 of the 2004 World Series at Fenway with Wakefield on the mound. They went on fake tickets they bought from the mob (which none of them knew until game night). The story is insane and sounds like the plot of a crappy movie for kids. Tim Wakefield will always be a Boston Legend. His willingness to do what the team needed above himself is what makes Wakefield a great player in my mind. "Team" really is his middle name.

[@craxwastaken5553]

R.I.P TIM WAKEFIELD

[@dnelons123]

Another Legend lost 😢 You were one of the reasons im fascinated by the physics behind knuckling 🤦🏿‍♂️

[@alexahearn4016]

RIP. A true Sox legend

[@HighestIQ]

Didn't know much about him, watched this video a week ago and now he's gone. Seriously RIP.

[@supermanprime6758]

In the greatest baseball game ever made….MVP 05…..I won the Cy Young and MVP with Tim Wakefield

[@Spikey_Buddy]

Wakefield made me a fan of the knuckleball. He was always fun to watch when he took the mound. The sentiment also goes for guys like R.A. Dickey and Steven Wright too. It's a shame that the pitch is very rarely to never thrown anymore in the majors.

[@gwynwellliver4489]

I love Wake.❤ Been a Sox fan since '85. Lucky to spend 7 summers with my grandparents in NH. Back in the '80's we had to tune in NESN with the big satellite dish. Gosh I miss Jerry Remy.

[@KT-ki6gz]

It was always a coin flip whether he was going to make hitters look stupid all day or throw BP, but even on those bad days he had some ridiculous knucklers and he was always fun to watch

[@mspionage1743]

That slow mo from 1991 when he was with the Pirates and it followed his knuckleball to the plate is legendary in my opinion. First time in MLB history that a camera could follow the pitch so closely so the fans could see how devastating it was.

[@dontwannaname]

I was at Fenway when Wakefield won his 200th. It was a hell of a game

[@RAldrich526]

An incredibly timely video. I’ve spent today reflecting on my all-time favorite Red Sox. ♥️

[@mso-ink]

Top two favorite Sox players: Wakefield and Trot Nixon. Got to see Wake pitch every time I went to a game at Fenway. Love that guy.

[@charlesvalentino6611]

Tim and Stacy RIP from the Boston area. I love watching Tim pitch. I miss you, T/W

[@In_and_ouTs]

When Tim played for Pittsburgh I was lucky enough to get to meet him as a kid and get his autograph. Seemed like a genuine guy.

[@dashlivingston5975]

Rest well Tim, I still have your card randomly laying on my desk. Without you, the Sox would’ve never reversed the curse. I pray for your wife.

[@setaside2]

I was never a Boston Red Sox fan but I was always a Time Wakefield fan. I love knuckleballers, their controversy, their fate driven successes... They are the true ambassadors of baseball's humanity: unhittable when on, unbelievably bad when off... a fingernail and a crosswind could decide the game. Knucklers like Wake and RA Dickey are major players in my odd, assorted pantheon of sports heroes because, for them, every moment of play was up for grabs BUT, if they were in command, every wiffle pitch a drunk bumblebee eyeing the plate like a rum-sotted pirate... Well, the best hitters of a generation looked straight up fools. Joyously so. The little guy taming dragons. In the end, though, character is the foundation of legends: Tim was also known to be a very good human who knew how to charity with nobility and heart; a man of both achievement and privilege who understood what it really means to give back. True heroes understand reciprocity is never by rote. It's done simply because it's right. Solidarity with the Red Sox nation and the Wakefield family, this week. They lost one of the good ones. Thanks for always inspiring, Wakey, even in times of adversity. You are adored. RIP Tim Wakefield.

[@GlennSpitzer-mi4cl]

Knucklers are so cool. It just floats in.

[@dannymac6368]

Timmy was my hero. I threw a knuckleball because of him. Batters = 🫨

[@yell0wberry]

My condolences to the immediate circle for Tim Wakefield, yes, I think it’s very safe to say they will be retiring his number, RIP

[@dylanhester4194]

Tim was one of my all time favorite Red Sox players.

[@juniorpimentel6632]

RIP Tim 🙏🏼 truly a Hall of Famer. I trust you’ll get in the near future.

[@TheRealJeffBezos15]

R.I.P The king of the knuckleball

[@nwebster84]

I remember a joke around 2000, that the Red Sox would go with a 3-man staff. Pedro and Ramon Martinez would be the top two starters with Wakefield pitching all other innings.

[@bostonrailfan2427]

RIP to Tim, you will be missed by fans forever.

[@Pedicrap]

95 was a big year in Boston. I remember playing in babe Ruth and almost every kid at the time was throwing a knuckle ball. Some great times.

[@SyndicateSuperman]

RIP Wake. Gone way too damn soon. We love you and will forever miss you.

[@Didyoustart]

This news is sad, I loved Tim as a pitcher, rest in peace.

[@seandaley2914]

Loved WAKE rest in peace brother

[@donaldbetheljr1568]

R.i.p bro just watch this video

[@saxgirlhornboy6458]

Nice segment, thanks.

[@10Peter25]

RIP, Mr. Wakefield! 😢

[@reubensandwich9249]

The 5th longest streak a team had not being shutout were the Phillies at 174 games. Tim Wakefield broke that streak on Sept. 30, 1993, posting a complete game shutout.

[@marcuslevis]

RIP Timmy! Knuckleball legend

[@ecast888]

R.I.P. ❤

[@joseph-ow1hf]

I don't live in Mass. But I got to go to Fenway on a vacation once and was lucky enough catch a game where Tim was starting. Lot of fun.

[@david600R]

Prayers to Wakefields family 🙏🏼

[@drakecerberus7193]

Eating a jello with chopsticks is such a great analogy

[@mattprssmn4]

RIP Tim Wakefield.....we have to retire 49.

[@BaseballRoscoe25]

RIP, loved watching his knuckleball

[@jeremycoe9108]

The best MTC vid in a while. Great stuff.

[@helena20000]

❤Tim Wakefield/"WAKE" #49🤗[@ Boston Red Sox]

[@Jacob-fl6pc]

Us Bostonians love Wakefield

[@burke615]

Wake was so important - and/or catching him was so hard - that he had his own personal catcher, Doug Mirabelli. But Doug got traded to the Padres, and they brought in Josh Bard to catch for him. That...did not go well, and there was outcry to bring Mirabelli back. Which the front office did. This led to a police escort for this backup catcher from Logan Airport to Fenway Park so he could be there in time for the game. They were playing the Yankees, and it was the "return of Johnny Damon" game, his first game in Fenway after signing with the hated Yankees. A buddy of mine paid a ridiculous amount for two obstructed view seats behind home plate. It was a great game, and we kept switching off who was sitting behind the pole - not so we could see better, but to have a respite from the biting early May wind that was blowing straight in. Wake pitched 7 innings and left with a 3-3 tie, Big Papi hit a three run homer in the bottom of the 8th right after Mark Loretta drove in the go-ahead run, Papelbon closed the game in a non-save situation, the Sox won, and Dirty Water played. Good times. There's a great Hardball Times article written for the 10th anniversary of the event ("The Doug Mirabelli Trade: An Oral History") that goes over how the trade (back) happened, and the logistics of getting him to the ball park. It includes gems that we fans didn't know at the time, like the fact that Mirabelli caught the first inning without a cup because he couldn't find it when he was changing in the back of the police car on the way to the park. But my favorite part is Mirabelli recounting this snippet of conversation with the pilot after they were cleared over Cleveland and New York's air space: "The pilot said to me after we got cleared over New York, 'I don’t even know who you are, but I’ve carried hearts and lungs and never had this much clearance over airspace.'” And the Massachusetts State Police, as the article says, did catch some heat for wasting public resources on that escort. I wasn't opposed to it as a taxpayer, but I do get that not everyone in the state is a Sox fan.

[@auntiewewe972]

Godspeed Tim. As great a player, teammate, competitor you were, your character , and compassion far exceed them all. A horrible day for RedSox nation. A sad day for MLB. We lost one of the true good ones today. We will always love you. Now you and Remdawg can play catch together. Rest easy fine sir. 😔😔😔😔😔😢😢😢😢

[@fkniga1390]

146 pitches in a debut !?! You’ll never see that again! RIP Red Sox legend!

[@TheScrubExpress]

Wake will always be one of my favorites as a Sox fan in the 2000s. Definition of the workhorse. Edit October 2: I can't believe he's gone already. Much, much too soon.

[@coreypillsbury9313]

RIP Timmy

[@kevingreene4090]

Love you Wake!

[@hardybryan]

I was obsessed with throwing a knuckle ball when I was in high school. I was a decent pitcher, but didn't have a rocket arm or anything, so I decided the knuckler was the key. My coach let me throw it one game and I walked like 7 or 8 guys in 3 innings and he told me to knock it off, but that sucker was dancing. I mostly remember because I told everyone, but no one got a hit off it. Coach was still unimpressed. SMH.

[@peterharris6409]

Tim Wakefield belongs in the HOF. Don’t care what anyone says. Dude had an incredible career throwing ONE PITCH for 20 years. He has an above average ERA+ and he played in the middle of the steroid era. Not to mention the historical significance of him being a successful KNUCKLEBALLER!!! There are guys with way less credentials and had way less impact on the game that are in the hall. The man basically did the impossible. For TWENTY YEARS!!!!!!! Successful throwing the ball 60mph down the middle of the plate!!!! Wake up to Wakefield people!!!!

[@bosslax3162]

RIP Tim❤

[@dylanwelch91]

Longtime Sox fan here; loved watching Wakefield pitch back in the day. Should give a shout-out too to Doug Mirabelli, his sole purpose for being in the team was to catch for Wakefield and he used a softball mitt to do it. I thought it was so cool that wake had his own personal catcher lol.

[@adamshotts6097]

As a Pittsburgh pirate fan my whole life, Wake Jay Bell n Andy Van S were my favorite as an early 90's Buc

[@charlied2449]

Rest easy Tim

[@mikereddy18]

Very sad day today for Red Sox Nation. RIP Tim.

[@edwardgarciarosario140]

RIP Legend

[@PTFVBVB]

Working tues-sat and couldn't have asked for a better start to the weekend

[@jayobrien1778]

Thanks for the video. I grew up in Watertown, NY and remember that 1988 season (it was their last affiliated with the Pirates). Can't say that I specifically remember Wakefield, though, seeing how his performance wasn't that memorable anyway.

[@serisothikos]

Ayyyyyyy, Wake! It was always less about whether they'd win with him on the mound and more about how I had literally no idea how the game would go. Every game he pitched was different.

[@Joe_Caruso]

Eric Gagne is my favorite pitcher of all time. First time seeing him on the mound was, “who’s this bum?” Then he proceeded to throw his infamous filthy Vulcanchange, and I’ve loved him ever since.

[@tylerhand6759]

RIP Tim.