FILE - Former Boston Red Sox player Tim Wakefield looks on before the start of a baseball game between the Red Sox and Oakland Athletics at Fenway Park, Wednesday, June 15, 2022, in Boston. The Boston Red Sox say announcer and former knuckleballer Tim Wakefield is undergoing treatment for a disease they did not specify and asked for fans to respect his privacy after his illness was outed without his consent by ex-teammate Curt Schilling. The team issued a statement on Thursday, Sept. 28, 2023, after Schilling said on a podcast that Wakefield had brain cancer. The news led to an outpouring of support for Wakefield – and criticism of Schilling. Wakefield is 57. (AP Photo/Mary Schwalm, File)
BOSTON (AP) – Tim Wakefield, the knuckleballing workhorse of the Red Sox pitching staff who bounced back after giving up a season-ending home run to the Yankees in the 2003 playoffs to help Boston win its curse-busting World Series title the following year, has died. He was 57.
The Red Sox announced his death in a statement Sunday. Wakefield had brain cancer, according to ex-teammate Curt Schilling, who outed the illness on a podcast last week – drawing an outpouring of support for Wakefield. The Red Sox confirmed an illness at the time but did not elaborate, saying Wakefield had requested privacy.
Drafted by the Pirates as a first baseman who set home run records in college, Wakefield converted to a pitcher after mastering the knuckleball in the minor leagues. Relying on the old-timey pitch that had largely fallen into disuse, he went on to win 200 major league games, including 186 with the Red Sox – behind only Cy Young and Roger Clemens in franchise history.
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