Tim Wakefield Dead at 57

Red Sox knuckleball pitcher Tim Wakefield died on Sunday October 1, 2023, to his fight with cancer. Both Tim and his wife Stacey Wakefield were outed by Curt Schillings on their battles of cancer the week before on a podcast Schilling was on and Tim Wakefield requested privacy because he did not want that information shared just yet. Tim Wakefield ended up dying from brain cancer the next week and his wife Stacey Wakefield is still fighting pancreatic cancer. 

Tim Wakefield was one of the most famous pitchers for the Red Sox. He recorded 200 wins and pitched in 627 games until his career retirement in 2011. Wakefield played 19 seasons in the MLB and 17 of them he was playing for the Red Sox. 

During Wakefield’s career he had played in some huge games. In 2003 the World Series was very tight and there was no clear way where the trophy would go. Wakefield gave up the game winning homerun to the Yankees and they won. The next year he persisted and was a big hand in helping the Red Sox win some big games to get them the World Series title in 2004. Then he won it all again in 2007 for the Red Sox with him and Big Papi working together as an unstoppable team.

Red Sox ended up announcing Tim Wakefield’s death and remarking on what a great person he was. “It’s one thing to be an outstanding athlete; it’s another to be an extraordinary human being. Tim was both,””I know the world was made better because he was in it.”stated by Tom Werner (Red Sox Chairmen). “We lost a brother, a teammate, a family member. One of the best teammates I ever had. … Of all the guys I played with, nobody wore his jersey with more pride than Tim Wakefield”, Alex Cora (Red Sox Manager and former teammate) stated about Tim Wakefield.

At the beginning of Wakefield’s career, he was drafted to the Pittsburgh Pirates as a first baseman. Very quickly he practiced mastering the knuckleball in the minors from learning to pitch from his dad. Tim Wakefield also won the Roberto Clemente Award in 2010 for community involvement and sportsmanship, and he was also nominated 7 other times. 

Wakefield was a big member of the community, helping people wherever he could, raising money for childhood cancer foundations, and was an honorary member of the Red Sox Foundation. Tim Wakefield was an unforgettable player. He leaves behind a beautiful family with his wife Stacey and their children Trevor and Brianna.