Tim Wakefield announced his retirement from Major League
Knuckleballer Tim Wakefield will advertise his retirement from baseball after 19 seasons in the majors – 17 of them with the Boston Red Sox. Reduced Juice Betting
The 45-year-old Wakefield will end up with 186 victories with the Red Sox, just 6 short of the team record shared by Cy Young and Roger Clemens. He recorded his 200th career success late last season. Reduced Juice Wagering
Wakefield declared toward the end of last season that he needed to come back for his 18th season with the Red Sox, but as the winter wore on it became clear he was not in Boston’s plans. The club extended him an invite to spring coaching but did not assure him a roster spot. Had Wakefield admitted, he likely would have competed for the 5th place in the rotation.
The Boston Red Sox extended an identical invitation to Captain Jason Varitek, who has spent the past 15 years with the team. It remains unclear whether the soon-to-be-40-year-old catcher will take them up on the invite, sign somewhere else or retire.
Wakefield, who finished last season with a 7-8 record and a 5.12 ERA in twenty-three starts, won just one of his last 10 starts, the bullpen failing to hold 1 or 2 leads. When the Boston Red Sox desperately needed somebody in September to step up and pitch a large game, Wakefield gave up five or even more runs in every of his last 4 starts, lasting 5 or less innings in 3 of them.
Wakefield had a career record of 200-180 with a 4.41 Time and 2,156 strikeouts. He was drafted in 1988 by the Pittsburgh Pirates as a 1st baseman, but when he was made aware of reports that he didn’t have much of a future as a position player, he started to develop the knuckleball.
He had success in the minors as a pitcher and made it to the large leagues down the stretch for the playoff-bound Pirates in 1992. He went 8-1 with a 2.15 ERA and then won 2 starts in the National League Championship Series.
But he couldn’t sustain his victory and bounced among the majors and minors before being released in 1995.
The Red Sox virtually straight away signed Wakefield, and he finished up going 16-8 with a 2.95 ERA in 1995 as Boston won the American League East.
Wakefield changed into a critical cog on the Red Sox’s staff, winning seventeen games in 1998 and even filling in as closer and picking up 15 saves in 1999. From 2003-2008 he made at least thirty starts, winning 12 games for the 2004 World Series champs and 17 for the 2007 team that won it all.
Wakefield’s Seventeen years of assistance with the franchise is surpassed by only 3 players: Carl Yastrzemski (23), Ted Williams (19) and Dwight Evans (19). His name is at or near the pinnacle of Boston’s best-ever lists in a bunch of classes – 3rd in wins, 1st in appearances (590), starts (430) and innings pitched (3,006), and 2nd in strikeouts (2,046 ; Clemens leads that class with 2,590).
Wakefield also pitched to thirteen players who have gone on to manage in the major leagues, including Joe Girardi, Mike Scioscia, Ozzie Guillen and Bud Black.