Monday, February 17, 2014

#163 Tim Wakefield

About the Front: You can tell that Tim Wakefield is a classy gent because he pitches with his pinky extended.

About the Back: If you feel cheated by Topps' failure to show Wakefield's batting stats, here you go: he batted .189/.328/.308 as a 21-year-old for Watertown. So...learning the knuckleball was probably a good call.

Triple Play:

1. He made his first and only All-Star team in 2009 at age 42, thanks largely to an 11-3 record at the break.

2. Later in his career, Tim had a unique contract with the Red Sox that had a perpetual year-to-year team option. As long as Boston was happy with his performance and he wished to continue, he could come back for another season. He ultimately pitched until 2011, his age 44 season, and retired with exactly 200 wins.

3. Wakefield is part owner of Turner's Yard, a restaurant in Pembroke, MA.

11-Year-Old Kevin Says: By the time I caught on in 1993, Tim had already gone from rookie sensation to afterthought. The 186 wins and two World Series rings that he earned from that point forward were a surprise to say the least.

Bill James Said: "He's not a 'safe pick', but I think he'll have a good career." Yeah, you could say that.

On This Date in 1993: February 17. A ferry sinks in Haiti, killing about 1,215 of its 1,500 passengers.

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