The Boston Red Sox will wear “49” patches on their jerseys in 2024 to remember knuckleballer Tim Wakefield, who
died from brain disease last October.
This season, the Boston Red Sox will wear patches commemorating longstanding franchise mainstay Tim Wakefield,
according to Gabrielle Starr of The Boston Herald.
Wakefield died in October after a seizure caused by brain cancer. He was 57 years old.
The patches will feature Wakefield’s No. 49, which he wore on his Red Sox jersey from 1995 to 2011.
The knuckleballer went 200-180 with a 4.41 ERA and 34.4 WAR over his career, which included two seasons with
the Pittsburgh Pirates in the early 1990s.
Wakefield made his first and only All-Star appearance in 2009, at the age of 42. With 186 career victories, he is third
in Red Sox history behind only Cy Young and Roger Clemens, and his 3,006.0 innings pitched set a franchise record.
Wakefield is a two-time World Series champion who also received the Roberto Clemente Award in 2010.
After retiring, Wakefield served as a commentator for NESN, the regional sports network that covered the Red Sox.
The Red Sox last wore honorary patches on their jerseys in 2022, following the death of former player and NESN
broadcaster Jerry Remy. Throughout the season, Boston’s jerseys featured Remy’s number two on the left sleeve.
