Tim Wakefield, a former Major League Baseball pitcher and two-time World Series winner, died on Sunday, the
Boston Red Sox said. He was 57.
The Pittsburgh Pirates drafted Wakefield, a Florida native, as a third baseman in 1988. When he realized he wouldn’t
make it as a position player, he started training on a knuckleball and formally switched to pitching in 1990. His
major-league debut came in 1992, and he had a terrific season, but his career with the Pirates ended in 1995, when
he was released.
However, he did not remain a free agent for long. Wakefield signed with the Red Sox a few days later and quickly
became a club staple, wow fans with his knuckleball and charitable work with the organization. He played 17 seasons
in Boston and was a member of the historic, curse-breaking 2004 World Series and 2007 championship teams. He
holds all-time Red Sox records with 430 starts and 3,006 innings pitched, and he ranks second in franchise history
with 590 pitching appearances and 2,046 strikeouts. He is the only player in franchise history to play in a game at
the age of 44 or older, and he holds the all-time Fenway Park record with 216 starts and 1,553 innings.
Wakefield returned to the Red Sox as a broadcaster and special assistant after retiring in 2012, and he continued his
humanitarian work as honorary chairman of the Red Sox Foundation. When a nonprofit therapeutic preschool
program for children with special disabilities was failing financially, he helped revitalize it and raised funds through
an auction and celebrity golf event held every year. He worked closely with the Jimmy Fund both during and after his
career, helping with their annual radio telethon.
Wakefield is survived by his wife, Stacy, and their two children, Trevor and Brianna.
The news of Wakefield’s death was shocking, although speculations concerning his condition had circulated days
before when Curt Schilling, a former Red Sox pitcher and Wakefield’s teammate from 2004 to 2007, published the
Wakefields’ confidential health information without their permission.
Schilling revealed on his podcast that Wakefield had brain cancer and his wife, Stacy, had pancreatic cancer, and he requested listeners to pray for them and their children. The revelation quickly spread on social media, and the Red
Sox and several of Wakefield’s old teammates were allegedly outraged that Schilling had posted it without
authorization.
