Tim Wakefield has passed away from brain cancer at 57 (10/1 update)

[BoSox Rule]

https://x.com/bossportsgordo/status/1707265018675261609?s=46&t=iNt242EgXHRZCuVqtosSmA

Like I said, according to Curt Schilling. But if this is true this is just devastating news. One of the most loyal and decent men in Red Sox history. Also fuck Curt for breaking it.

 

[Petagine in a Bottle]

Jesus, I hope this is not true. Awful.

 

[Laser Show]

I am heartbroken for Wake and furious with Schilling

 

[PedroisGod]

Just saw this on Twitter. Absolutely brutal news.

 

[Smiling Joe Hesketh]

Awful news for the Wakefield family. Awful news that Schilling, in the latest of a lifetime of wrong decisions, decided to share it.

 

[NDBoston]

Awful news for the Wakefield family. Awful news that Schilling, in the latest of a lifetime of wrong decisions, decided to share it.

I didn't think it was possible to hate Schilling more. I was wrong.

 

[Jim Ed Rice in HOF]

I just listened to the audio from the link in the opening post. Sounds like his wife is also dealing with pancreatic cancer? Jesus Christ, that poor family.

 

[Bowhemian]

Awful news for the Wakefield family. Awful news that Schilling, in the latest of a lifetime of wrong decisions, decided to share it.

Is it possible that he was asked to share it?

 

[jezza1918]

Is it possible that he was asked to share it?

Schilling opens up his audio admitting he isn't sure if Wakefield wants this shared or not.

 

[PedroisGod]

Is it possible that he was asked to share it?

Schilling said at the beginning of the podcast that he wasn't sure whether Wakefield wanted it out there, but he believes in the power of prayer, so he shared it in the hopes people would pray for him. I obviously agree with the others - if it wasn't meant for public consumption he needed to keep that to himself.

 

[sodenj5]

Schilling opens up his audio admitting he isn't sure if Wakefield wants this shared or not.

Fuck Schilling, man. Wake seems like a very private person and probably shared it in confidence with close friends and family.

Heartbreaking news for Wake. Prayers up for him, his wife, and his family.

 

[Bowhemian]

Schilling opens up his audio admitting he isn't sure if Wakefield wants this shared or not.

Well alrighty then. What an asshole.

 

[Petagine in a Bottle]

Seriously, what an asshole. He could have referenced a “teammate” going through something without outing him. Let him share if and when he sees fit. It’s always about Curt.

 

[jezza1918]

Just another reminder of how much I regret purchasing his jersey the morning of Oct 28, 2004. He's a terrible human. That said, Im I dont want to waste anymore negative energy on that assclown (ok, maybe a little more energy). Channeling positive energy instead to Wakefield and his family.

 

[Murby]

All the love to the Wakefield family as I hope this is very wrong. What a sick man Curt is. Geez.

 

[Archer1979]

Horrible news. When I coached, I would use Tim Wakefield as a role model for perserverance and selflessness. God Bless him and his family so that they can beat this thing.

 

[Nick Kaufman]

Sad, sad news. My best wishes for him and his family.

 

[Fishy1]

Wakefield was my idol growing up. I tried to learn how to throw a knuckleball and blew my shoulder out and everything. This is so so sad.

 

[Red(s)HawksFan]

Is it possible that he was asked to share it?

If Wake wanted it shared, why the fuck would he ask Schilling of all people to make it public? Wake has his own social media. He has a job at NESN. He could be on the pre-game show tonight with the news if he wanted it out there. This reeks of old Red Light Schilling making shit about him. Fuck that fucker.

I wish Wake all the best and I hope he beats it.

 

[Ale Xander]

this is horrible in every way, whether he has it or not. OMG

WTF, G38.

Prayers for the Wakefield family. Hope he gets the best care. Happy he's in Boston, at least part time, given Dana farber and the other hospitals.

 

[Murderer's Crow]

May his cancer progress as slowly as one of his knuckleballs and may he have as much life as the movement in one of them.

 

[TimNJsoxfan]

This sucks! My only Red Sox jersey I have ever owned is #49

Praying for the best

 

[Curt S Loew]

Wake is definitely one of the good guys and probably my favorite Red Sox player. This is so sad. Prayers to him and family.

I also can't fathom how anyone would reveal this in this matter. I'm really angry about that.

 

[TapeAndPosts]

Nothing but love for Tim Wakefield, one of the classiest and most selfless players to have worn the Red Sox jersey. We are all rooting for you Tim.

Schilling with one more in a string of unfathomable choices.

 

[trekfan55]

I hate this news! Hate hate hate.

I love Tim Wakefield and wish him the best and will pray for him. Decent person, great player, and always gave his all. He gave up a start in Game 4 to eat innings in Game 3 and then almost gave us all heart attacks in Game 5.
And yeah, if Wakefield did not want this shared (and it looks like he didn't) then Curt Schilling is an even bigger asshole than I thought. Thanks for 2004 but now get in a hole and stay there.

 

[Ale Xander]

This sucks! My only Red Sox jersey I have ever owed is #49

Praying for the best

Username and avatar check out

 

[Andy Merchant]

Yeah, I saw that this AM and hoped that it wasn't true since I didn't see a legit source reporting it. Yet another time where Schilling should STFU.

 

[RedOctober3829]

Schilling is a flaming asshole, but this is a new low even for him. Fuck him for saying this if Tim did not tell him he could share it. If this is true, this is absolutely devastating.

 

[Papo The Snow Tiger]

What horrible news. I want to join the chorus in wishing nothing but the best to Tim and his family.

A few years ago my daughter got into collecting autographs, and she started sending out baseball cards to various players addressed to their home team. Tim Wakefield was one of those players. A few months after she sent him his card she received an envelope addressed to her from the Boston Red Sox. In it was a signed color action photo of Tim Wakefield, the card she sent him, and a nice letter basically saying thanks for being a fan, please enjoy the photo and signed "Tim". I'm sure it was a form letter, but it had to have taken some effort on his part to make some sort of response. Truly a classy gentleman.

 

[donutogre]

Jesus, that's horrible news. And fuck Schilling forever. Dude was a goddamn hero to me after 2004 and he has pissed away every bit of goodwill and then some. Glad I never bought his jersey.

 

[donutogre]

What horrible news. I want to join the chorus in wishing nothing but the best to Tim and his family.

A few years ago my daughter got into collecting autographs, and she started sending out baseball cards to various players addressed to their home team. Tim Wakefield was one of those players. A few months after she sent him his card she received an envelope addressed to her from the Boston Red Sox. In it was a signed color action photo of Tim Wakefield, the card she sent him, and a nice letter basically saying thanks for being a fan, please enjoy the photo and signed "Tim". I'm sure it was a form letter, but it had to have taken some effort on his part to make some sort of response. Truly a classy gentleman.

That's a great story. I'm sure that's a lot more than she would have gotten back from a lot of players and teams.

 

[opes]

Depending on the type of brain cancer, some have pretty good survival rates. EDIT: moving my thoughts to the other thread YTF started.

 

[Caspir]

Schilling said at the beginning of the podcast that he wasn't sure whether Wakefield wanted it out there, but he believes in the power of prayer, so he shared it in the hopes people would pray for him. I obviously agree with the others - if it wasn't meant for public consumption he needed to keep that to himself.

If the power of prayer worked, a piano would have fallen on Schilling's head by now. I thought he had reached his low point, but nope, he finds a new way to be a scum bag.

Devastating news for Wake, and if his wife is going through cancer as well, just ugh. Hoping he is able to have the best quality of life possible given the circumstances.

 

[thebtskink]

Gutted. My favorite player for years, and an inspiration to everyone in how he reshaped his career and adapted.

When the Sox visited Walter Reed, my brother was there recuperating. Of all the sports figures and notables that visited, my brother speaks highest of him, and the personal time he took to connect to any soldiers that were Sox fans. The photo on Tim's Wikipedia with a fan and the trophy is my brother.

Screw Schilling for sharing this. He had to make it about him.

 

[Lose Remerswaal]

That's a great story. I'm sure that's a lot more than she would have gotten back from a lot of players and teams.

Tim has done a ton of work for the Red Sox Foundation. This story, @Papo The Snow Tiger , does not surprise me.

 

[Papo The Snow Tiger]

That's a great story. I'm sure that's a lot more than she would have gotten back from a lot of players and teams.

She's had some successes, some failures, but Tim's was the only time she got back an upgrade from a baseball card to a signed photo with the Red Sox team logo in the bottom corner.

 

[curly2]

Screw Schilling for sharing this. He had to make it about him.

And when he gets blowback for this he'll claim it's because he's a Christian and a conservative.

But enough about Schilling, get well soon, Wake. May you be at the 50th reunion of the 2004 team.

 

[CarolinaBeerGuy]

Not only did Schilling make this about himself, he also brought Doug Mirabelli into the equation. I don't have anything nice to say, so I'll just put my energy into wishing Tim all the best.

 

[jteders1]

Horrible news for Wake. Really one of the great gentlemen of the game. Wishing him nothing but the best. It's really getting to the point with Schilling that you won't be able to invite him back to Fenway. I can't imagine the reception he would get.

 

[nolasoxfan]

All of my best wishes and love to the Wakefield family. It's been said many times on this board, but is worth repeating here: fuck cancer.

 

[joe dokes]

Not only did Schilling make this about himself, he also brought Doug Mirabelli into the equation. I don't have anything nice to say, so I'll just put my energy into wishing Tim all the best.

I suspect Wake will take the high road. That being one of the many differences between him and the other guy.

 

[Fisks Of Fury]

This sucks, and it stinks, and it sucks.

My Wakefield jersey is the only one I wear now, and he is my favorite overall Sox player of this era. I mean, I love Pedro unconditionally. But Wake, and the fact that he did whatever the team needed from year to year... starter, reliever, even closer, made him my favorite.

And goddamn... fuck you, Curt.

 

[Smiling Joe Hesketh]

Apparently Mrs Varitek isn't happy with Curt at all:



@CatherinVaritek
·
11m

Fuck you Curt Schilling, that wasn’t your place!




https://x.com/CatherinVaritek/status/1707396629681058174?s=20

 

[CarolinaBeerGuy]

It looks as if this is starting to gain some traction. I've never heard of the The Spun by Sports Illustrated, but a google search turned up this brief article:

https://thespun.com/more/mlb/prayers-pouring-in-for-legendary-red-sox-pitcher-tim-wakefield

 

[NickEsasky]

Just awful news. Wakefield is a class act all the way and was such a tremendous pitcher and ambassador for this team. I wish him the best in fighting this.

And fuck Schilling forever. What an absolute pustule of a human being.

 

[CarolinaBeerGuy]

Apparently Mrs Varitek isn't happy with Curt at all:

@CatherinVaritek
·
11m

Fuck you Curt Schilling, that wasn’t your place!




https://x.com/CatherinVaritek/status/1707396629681058174?s=20

I'm glad someone called him out. He won't care and will make it more about himself, of course.

 

[Steve Dillard]

Couldn't wait four days before NESN baseball is gone so Tim could be private.

 

[jose melendez]

my all time favorite. ReaLly sad

For this to break someone would have had to listen to Curt’s show, which seems unlikely.

what a piece of crap.

 

[Scott Cooper's Grand Slam]

I fell in love with the Red Sox in 1995. Wakefield was as big a reason as any. We are so lucky to have witnessed such a unique, successful and fun career.

People rightly talk about Pesky and Remy as Mr. Red Sox, but Wake is who I think of when I think of that phrase.

I can still recall my immediate thoughts when Boone hit that homer:

• My girlfriend came up from out of town and I’ve ignored her all night to watch this game. Our relationship is over.
• I never saw 75 or 86, but it’s my turn now.
• Why did it have to be Wake? I wish anyone else had given up that homer.

His effort was heroic. He didn’t deserve to be Eck to Boone’s Gibson.

Wake was redeemed in 2004. I’m wishing him and his family the very best.

 

[Petagine in a Bottle]

The first baseball game I ever took my future wife to, in 1997, was a Wakefield start at Fenway. She didn’t know a ton about baseball, and I figured I’d try to explain the rules a bit to her. First batter up strikes out, but reaches first on a passed ball. That didn’t help my cause!

When we took my oldest to Fenway for the first time, in 2011, the starter was none other than Tim Wakefield.

He was an enduring part of so many Sox teams- good and bad, the lowest of lows to the highest of highs, and I imagine that the special place he has in my heart is not unique among Sox fans.