Memories of former Pirates pitcher Tim Wakefield shared by GM Ben Cherington and others
When Pittsburgh Pirates relief pitcher Kent Tekulve was inducted into the franchise’s Hall of Fame this summer, we posted a story at “Breakfast With Benz” about how every young Pirates fan in the late 1970s and early ’80s tried to mimic his trademark submarine delivery.
I’m old enough to admit trying to do that myself as a tee-baller in the front yard.
Similarly, in 1992, every young Pirates fan tried replicating Tim Wakefield’s knuckleball.
I’m also old enough to admit attempting to do that as a teenager. Honestly, I may have had Teke’s delivery down as a 6-year-old better than I could ever copy Wakefield’s knuckler at 17.
I’m also not too proud to admit getting a little misty-eyed picking up a baseball in the garage this week and trying to replicate that knuckleball grip after hearing the news that Wakefield had died at the all too early age of 57
Wakefield was a comet across the sky here in Pittsburgh in 1992, knuckling his way to an 8-1 record with a 2.15 ERA. He finished third in the Rookie of the Year balloting that year, helping to push the Pirates into the National League Championship series for a third straight season.
After a choppy 1993 and the strike in 1994, Wakefield re-emerged in Boston in 1995, going 16-8 with a 2.95 ERA and finishing third in the Cy Young balloting. He’d go on to win 200 Major League Baseball games and two World Series rings before retiring with the Red Sox after the 2011 season.
Pirates general manager Ben Cherington spoke about Wakefield on Tuesday. He overlapped with Wakefield while he was working the front office in Boston between 2005 and 2015.
“During the time that I was with the Red Sox, he was really the primary constant through those years,” Cherington said. “He obviously pitched for a long time, (and) was an incredibly steadying force on the field, off the field, in the community. I would say (he was) a beacon in that clubhouse for all those years. The vision I have of him, of just playing sort of such an anchor for that team, it’s hard to imagine him not being here.”
Cherington shared a story about how Wakefield’s steadying presence paid long-term dividends for the Red Sox in 2006.
“Jon Lester had just come up,” Cherington recalled. “He was a rookie, and he was going through growing pains in the big leagues as many people do. I asked Wake what he thought of how Lester was doing. Was he gonna be all right? And Wake just said, ‘Yeah, he just needs some dirt on his spikes.’ And I think that was his way of saying he’s gonna be fine. He just needs a little experience. Give him time. I thought about that a lot this last week, watching our young players.”
Lester — who battled cancer himself early in his career — would also go on to win 200 games, earn three World Series rings (two in Boston) and make five All-Star Teams.
The sadness of losing Wakefield so early in life to cancer is heightened by the fact that he did so much to help raise funds in the battle to fight the disease. For many years in Boston, Wakefield was the Red Sox “Jimmy Fund Captain,” a player conduit between the franchise and the Jimmy Fund, which helps raise money for the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.
Former Pirates Brock Holt and David Ross also held that title. Pittsburgh native Larry Lucchino, a former Red Sox President and CEO, has served as the Jimmy Fund chair and first became a trustee in 2003.
“Whatever we needed, (Wakefield) did it,” DFCI’s Lisa Scherber
Tim Wakefield was selfless in his dedication to the adults and children being treated for cancer at @DanaFarber. He was our inaugural Jimmy Fund Red Sox co-captain and always went the extra mile. He often visited our adult and pediatric floors, met our teen patients during their… pic.twitter.com/VgtQuDEFsF
— The Jimmy Fund (@TheJimmyFund) October 2, 2023
— Lisa @ Jimmy Fund Clinic (@JFCactivities) October 3, 2023
This is the moment we all knew Tim Wakefield was an extraordinary man
Look at the smile on Robbie
This was 2008 in Chicago for our @TheJimmyFund Clinic teen event https://t.co/ltFJgnTdtY pic.twitter.com/NmhIt9v2hY— Lisa @ Jimmy Fund Clinic (@JFCactivities) October 2, 2023
— Christopher Smith (@SmittyOnMLB) October 2, 2023
Wakefield leaves behind two children and a wife, Stacy. She is also reportedly battling pancreatic cancer. As recently as Saturday, Wakefield had plans to walk in a Jimmy Fund event from Dana Farber to Fenway Park.
“He did everything incredibly selflessly,” Cherington said. “It was never about him. It was always about the team and community. (He was) just a real rock. So it’s just kind of just shocking how quickly this happened and really sad.”
An eight-time nominee for the Roberto Clemente Award, Wakefield eventually started Wakefield Warriors. The charity would invite patients from Franciscan Hospital for Children and the Jimmy Fund to visit him and watch batting practice.
“He brought us magic, and he brought us absolute joy,” Scherber said.
While he was only in Western Pennsylvania for a short time on the field, Wakefield did the same thing here in Pittsburgh.
Tim Benz is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Tim at tbenz@triblive.com or via X. All tweets could be reposted. All emails are subject to publication unless specified otherwise.
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