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"There are two theories to hitting a knuckleball. Unfortunately, neither of them works"
                                                  - Charley Lau

By Rick Valente
Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, and sorry he could not travel both, Tim Wakefield barreled through thick brush and piercing thorns to create his own path. At the time he was a 23 year-old minor league first baseman for the Pittsburgh Pirates. He had just finished the season batting .189 with 3 HR and 20 RBI in 159 plate appearances. Tim's hopes of making it to the major leagues seemed as likely as getting a sun burn in a bomb shelter. Tim knew it and the scouts who watched him knew it too. At that point most people would see two possible options for their career: either quit baseball, and try something new, or stick out the long bus rides and longer weeks on the road in the minors. That is, as long as the Pirates organization would keep a first baseman who batted under .200. Thankfully for the Red Sox, Tim Wakefield is not most people.

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Wakefield used to throw the knuckleball out of boredom during fielding practice for the Watertown Pirates, much to the annoyance of manager Stan Cliburn. However, when Wakefield's Gulf Coast League manager Woody Huyke spotted him throwing the floater in the outfield during batting practice, he was intrigued and wanted to see Tim throw the odd pitch off the mound. When the Pirates were ready to release Wakefield for the hole in his swing, Huyke convinced the Pirates' higher-ups to at least take a look at the kid's knuckleball. After seeing how Wakefield could make the ball sail like a butterfly with hiccups, management decided that if he was committed to mastering the trick pitch, they would keep him in Single-A for one more year. It was the decision that sparked the most unlikely 20-year career in MLB history. Over the next four years, the knuckleball would carry Tim up through the ranks of the minors, all the way to the Pirates major league team. He won NL Rookie Pitcher of the Year with an 8-1 record, pitched a five-hit shutout in the NLCS and won two games against Tom Glavine in the series. Woah. That's a long way from .189/3/20.
Over the next few years however, Wakefield's control was about as consistent as O.J's alibi. After a sharp decline in performance he was sent back to the minors and then released by the Pirates altogether. He was picked up six days later by the Boston Red Sox, and the rest, as they say, is history. While one of the most lasting memories of him will be his fateful and heartbreaking pitch to Aaron Boone that lost the 2003 ALCS, the first baseman left for dead by the Pirates retired as a pitcher today with two World Series rings, 200 wins, an All-Star selection, over 2,000 strikeouts, an AL Comeback Player of the Year Award, and a Roberto Clemente Award for his sportsmanship and his community involvement. He made Doug Mirabelli a household name in Boston. DOUG FREAKING MIRABELLI! The only .230 hitter to ever receive a hero's welcome and a police escort to Fenway Park.
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When Tim Wakefield started pitching for the Red Sox, they hadn't won a championship since 1918. Coolio's Gangsta's Paradise was at the top of the charts. A little company called Pixar released their first movie, Toy Story. Today, he leaves them as a World Champion, a role-model and a father. He is the embodiment of perseverance, and has earned his place as an all-time Red Sox player. I don't think anyone can argue against the fact that Tim Wakefield realized his dream of becoming a great Major League Baseball player. He just took one crazy path to get there.

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