Remembering Tim Wakefield, a real mensch

NOTE: This column was published in The Sun Chronicle of Attleboro, MA in the Sports section on Tuesday, Oct. 3, 2023. Here is the link to the column on the newspaper's website: https://www.thesunchronicle.com/sports/local_sports/larry-kessler-unexpected-death-of-wakefield-was-a-mound-loss-that-hit-hard-for-sox/article_a827e239-2c26-56ee-a16b-369034295ba4.html 

Baseball fans 65 and older feel bad enough whenever an iconic player, such as Baltimore Orioles great Brooks Robinson dies, as he did last week at the age of 86. But when players you watched as recently as 12 years ago --- and whom you saw only a few weeks ago as part of the NESN game coverage ---- die suddenly, then the only reaction is shock and profound sadness.
That was my how I reacted Sunday when, after turning on the pregame Red Sox show, I learned that Sox knuckleballer and broadcaster Tim Wakefield had died earlier Sunday of complications from a seizure, according to published reports, following surgery for a recently-discovered brain tumor.
If news of his illness and death seemed startling and totally unexpected, that's because it was. His diagnosis only came a few weeks ago, and we just found out about his cancer battle, as well as the one of his wife Stacy, a few days ago, because ex-Sox pitcher and all-around selfish narcissist Curt Schilling divulged the Wakefields' dual cancer battles on his podcast.
That irresponsible move by Schilling forced the Sox into releasing a statement about their illnesses. But since that statement gave no indication of how far along Wakefield's disease was, it was really jarring to hear and absorb the news of his passing on Sunday.
Eloquent and glowing tributes to "Wake" have since poured in and have been published in honor of the Sox Hall-of-Famer and two-time World Series champion, and all have been richly deserved. He not only played the third most seasons with the Sox at 17 ---- only Hall-of-Famer Carl Yastrzemski (23) and Dwight "Dewey" Evans and iconic Hall-of-Famer Ted Williams (19 each) spent more time with the Red Sox.
But Wakefield was also at the center of some notable postseason highlights, including pitching 3 plus innings in Game 3 of the 2004 ALCS 19-8 loss to the Yankees, thereby saving the pitching staff as the Sox made their miraculous comeback to win the ALCS en route to reversing the 86-year-old curse.
A year earlier, Wakefield was in the spotlight for another heartbreaking postseason moment, surrendering Aaron Boone's 11^th-inning homer that sent the Yanks to the World Series. But he handled that dubious distinction with class. Then-manager Grady Little, of course, took the brunt of the blame for the Red Sox’ blowing a 5-2 lead late in that game, because he failed to relieve Pedro Martinex.
It wasn’t surprising that the fans rallied to Wakefield’s side because he had always been a real mensch. He played the game right, and off the field, made it a point to help out numerous charities, especially the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute’s Jimmy Fund, which on the day of Wakefield’s death, was holding its annual Boston Marathon Jimmy Fund Walk on the 75^th anniversary of the charity’s founding.
Wakefield was a workhorse on the mound and is among the leaders in several Sox pitching categories, but I will end this tribute to him by recalling both a classic and funny tale involving Wakefield.
In the winter of 2005-2006, then-GM Theo Epstein traded backup catcher Doug Mirabelli to the Padres. Well, as Epstein soon admitted, that was one of his worst moves as GM, because it turned out that neither primary catcher Jason Varitek nor backup catcher Josh Bard could actually catch Wakefield's vaunted knuckler with any consistency.
That prompted Epstein to acknowledge his mistake, and he traded to bring Mirabelli back from the Padres. But there was a slight hitch: Mirabelli was on the West Coast when the trade was made and Wake was scheduled to face the Yanks at Fenway that Monday night.
His plane landed with no time to spare at Logan and the legend of Mirabelli and Wake was born when Mirabelli was given a police escort to Fenway. Mirabelli donned his uniform in the car and caught Wake that night. I can't recall who won the game, but Wake had his personal catcher back and that's all that mattered.
Seventeen years later, that story resonates with me and millions of fans because it's a testimony to what baseball and the Sox mean to New England. It is also one more reason why Wake will forever be so beloved in Red Sox Nation. 
Rest in peace, Tim. You, like your fellow broadcaster and Sox legend, Jerry Remy, left us much too early.
Larry Kessler is a retired Sun Chronicle local news editor and can be reached at larrythek65@gmail.com. He blogs at larrytheklineup.blogspot.com