Tim Wakefield Dies of Brain Cancer at 57

Richard Sandomir, The New York Times:

Tim Wakefield, a right-handed knuckleball pitcher for the Boston Red Sox who in 2004 played a critical late-innings relief role in the team’s winning its first World Series championship in 86 years, died on Sunday. He was 57.

The Red Sox announced his death in a statement, saying the cause was brain cancer. […] In 2010, near the end of his career, Wakefield won Major League Baseball’s Roberto Clemente Award, which recognizes a player’s community and charitable work.

On the field, I held Wakefield in disdain the way I hold in disdain all Red Sox. He was on the mound for so many great moments in Red Sox history, and against the Yankees in particular. But the truth is I always liked him. It’s hard not to like a knuckleballer, for some reason. But there was always something about Wakefield, something that said, “This guy is one of the good ones.” You could just hear it in the way his teammates — and opponents — spoke about him. Rest in peace.

★ Tuesday, 3 October 2023