The Red Sox faithful lament Tim Wakefield, saying, “It’s a great loss for Boston”.
BOSTON – Known for his knuckleball, Tim Wakefield was a renowned pitcher for the Red Sox. However, his off-field accomplishments are just as noteworthy and contribute to his legacy.
“It’s like watching a Tim Wakefield knuckleball in slow motion and wondering how someone can catch that thing. “It seems like most of the knuckleballers have moved on,” Red Sox supporter Bob Wihman observed. For baseball fans around the country and Boston natives, Wakefield will always be remembered.
“It’s devastating to be a Red Sox fan,” Chrissy Lauria remarked.
After Wakefield’s sudden death from brain cancer at the age of 57, fans descended upon Fenway Park to pay their respects.
“I was not informed at any time that he was ill. Jim Hintze, a Red Sox fan, stated, “My heart goes out to him and his family.”
Wakefield also put in just as much effort off the field as he did during play. Serving coffee to customers at Dunkin, to being chosen chairman of the Red Sox Foundation and being awarded the 2010 Roberto Clemente Award for his committed service to New England communities, he has experienced it all. This involved years of close collaboration with the Dana-Farber Institute and the Jimmy Fund.
Vice president of the Jimmy Fund and the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute Rebecca Gavin told reporters on Sunday, “We’re just incredibly saddened on behalf of the entire institute and all of the Jimmy Fund.” “Any time you lose a legend and an icon and someone as wonderful as Tim Wakefield was, it’s an incredibly sad day.”
Additionally, the 2023 Jimmy Fund Walk was held at Fenway Park on Sunday, the day Wakefield passed away from disease, earning millions of dollars for cancer research.
“Kids and people look up to athletes on a daily basis, basketball, baseball, football, whatever it may be, and to give back to something as noble as a cause like pediatric cancer as a whole is very important,” Hintze stated.
According to a statement from Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred, “…the league will continue to support their partners at Stand Up to Cancer in honor of Tim Wakefield, a player whose memory will live on both on and off the field.”
