Looking back on Tim Wakefield’s first season in Boston

The following is from the Wakefield Daily Item’s Aug. 11, 1995 edition. 

By CHRIS OLSON

BOSTON — Red Sox pitcher Tim Wakefield has never been to Wakefield, nor has he ever heard of Cyrus Wakefield, this town’s founding father.

But it is a realistic possibility that local baseball fans may be crowning this 29-year-old from Melbourne, Florida the second Cy Wakefield to come through the Boston area, since the knuckleballer is in the running with the rest of the American League’s top pitchers for the Cy Young Award.

In an interview with baseball’s Cinderella story of the summer of 1995, the soft-spoken Wakefield admitted to not knowing too much about his family’s heritage, or where he got his name.

“Someone in my family did a family tree and it dated back to some royalty back in Europe somewhere – I think England,” said Wakefield prior to Wednesday night’s game with the Cleveland Indians at Fenway Park, less than 24 hours after he pitched the Red Sox to a 5-1 win over Cleveland, the team with the best record in baseball.

“I’ve driven past it (Wakefield) on Route 95, but I’ve never driven through it. I just saw the signs for it.”

While the name Tim Wakefield may be a new one to locals, many may not realize that this is a playoff-experienced pitcher.

All this sudden media attention, with his 13-1 record and 1.61 earned run average, tops in the American League, is reminiscent of another time and another place for Wakefield.

Wakefield was thrust into a pennant race and playoffs during the 1992 season, while pitching in his rookie season for the Pittsburgh Pirates, then one of the dominant teams in the National League, with power hitters like Barry Bonds and Bobby Bonilla.

After coming up to Pittsburgh from AAA Buffalo in 1992, Wakefield went 8-1 with a 2.15 ERA. He then won two games in the National League Championship Series for Pittsburgh, but it wasn’t enough, as little-known Francisco Cabrera won the series for Atlanta in the bottom of the ninth in the seventh game. Wakefield was named the Sporting News’ National League Rookie of the Year after the 1992 season.

The wild ride ended quickly the next season, however, as he worked to a 6-11 record with a 5.61 ERA before being sent down to AA Carolina where he was 3-5, 6.99.

Wakefield spent all of last year with AAA Buffalo, where he recorded a dismal 5-15 mark before his release by the Pirates.

Wakefield is best known for his knuckleball, but it wasn’t always his arm that drew attention.

As a pitcher and first baseman for Eau Gallie High School in Melbourne, Wakefield was a hitter first, not a pitcher. At Florida Tech, Wakefield played first base and hit for power, which was why he was drafted by the Pirates in the eighth round of the free-agent draft in 1988.

“I pitched and played first base in high school and then went on to college and played first base primarily,” said Wakefield. “I was drafted by Pittsburgh because I was a pretty good hitter in college. At Florida Tech I had 40 home runs in three years there, so I was drafted, but I never panned out to be a hitter.

“I started messing around with the knuckleball, so they converted me to a pitcher (at Class A Salem in 1990).”

Under the tutelage of Phil and Joe Neikro, two of the major league’s most successful knuckleballers, Wakefield regained his confidence in the extended spring training session in Fort Myers after his signing by the Red Sox in late April.

Wakefield sees a lot of similarities between the pennant race the Red Sox are involved in and his just-as-storybook season of 1992. Red Sox pitchers Zane Smith and Stan Belinda were both teammates of Wakefield’s on that Pirates team.

“I get the same sensation coming into the clubhouse. There’s the same kind of chemistry going on here as far as confidence, team-wise. You walk into the clubhouse and know that we’ve got a chance to win every day. It’s a nice feeling to have.”

When playoff time comes, and it appears that the Sox are on track to at least gain a wild card berth in the American League, Wakefield could be a candidate to pitch on only a few days rest. Early after his call up from AAA Pawtucket in late May, Wakefield supported a battered Boston pitching staff by winning twice within four days on only two days rest. 

The first round of this year’s new playoff format has teams playing a best three out of five series. Could Wakefield possibly pitch two games in a five-game series against a team like Cleveland or California?

“I’d have to tell you when that time comes,” he said. “You have a tendency in the playoffs, when the adrenaline is flowing so good, that you don’t seem to be as tired as you are during the season. You don’t hold back anything either.”

Baseball isn’t all Tim Wakefield is about. He is also actively involved in his hometown, helping to financially support a day care center in Melbourne.

“It’s a center for children with Down’s Syndrome. I raise a lot of money for them every year with a golf tournament. It keeps my feet planted on the ground instead of getting too high. Personally, it’s a pretty special cause that I have ties with.”

And when told that the original Mr. Wakefield’s name was Cy, Tim Wakefield just laughed and said, “I’ll talk to you about the Cy (Young Award) after the season’s over with.”