Red Sox legend Tim Wakefield passed away today at the age of 57

Former knuckleballer Tim Wakefield sadly lost his battle with cancer on Sunday.

Eric Cole

New York Yankees v Boston Red Sox / Adam Glanzman/GettyImages

It is a sad day for Boston Red Sox fans. Earlier this week, it was announced out of necessity because Curt Schilling chose to reveal the information without the Wakefield family's consent, that 17 year Red Sox veteran and well-known knuckleballer Tim Wakefield was battling brain cancer. Unfortunately, the sad news broke today that Wakefield did succumb to his illness at the age of 57.

Our hearts are broken with the loss of Tim Wakefield.

Wake embodied true goodness; a devoted husband, father, and teammate, beloved broadcaster, and the ultimate community leader. He gave so much to the game and all of Red Sox Nation.

Our deepest love and thoughts are with… pic.twitter.com/ah5kV2Yt8j
— Red Sox (@RedSox) October 1, 2023

Tribute poor in after the untimely death of Tim Wakefield

Tim Wakefield was a pro's pro in the game of baseball. He forged a 19 year career in baseball after adopting the use of the knuckleball as a prospect and ended up winning 186 games as a member of the Red Sox, won two World Series rings, finished in the top 3 in Cy Young voting in 1995, and was an All-Star in 2009.

The tributes from around the league came quickly with the news of Wakefield's passing honoring not only the player he was on the field, but also how much people valued him as a teammate and a human being.

Tim Wakefield was the man. Completely reinvented himself and zigged where the rest of the game zagged. So many of us around New England messed around with the knuckleball in the backyard, hoping to capture a little of his magic.

But there was only one Wake. RIP. https://t.co/jQGIFeCfoC
— Sam Dykstra (@SamDykstraMiLB) October 1, 2023

Tim Wakefield made knuckleballing cool again.

But he was an even cooler human being.

What incredibly sad news. https://t.co/z5e3nImmTX
— Jayson Stark (@jaysonst) October 1, 2023

While the circumstances of how his illness came to light were gross and unfortunate, the response from the baseball community at large had to the news of Wake's passing has been heartening to say the least. To the person, everyone has talked about just how an amazing human and teammate Tim was on and off the field. The baseball community lost a great one today.

Our thoughts are with the entire Wakefield family as well as all of his friends, teammates, coaches, and all the lives he touched during his time on this earth right now. Today is going to be hard for all of them, but hopefully the support from the Red Sox community makes the days, weeks, and months ahead just a little bit easier.

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Eric Cole

I started my career writing about baseball covering the Atlanta Braves for SB Nation's Talking Chop back in 2015 which has since been renamed Battery Power. After years of writing for those fine folks, I made the decision to take over as Site Expert at House That Hank Built before becoming a full-time MLB Staff Writer for FanSided in 2023. Along the way, I have been a guest on multiple ESPN radio affiliates as well as 680 The Fan and 92.9 The Game to discuss Braves baseball and especially Braves prospects and was a long-time host on the Battery Power podcast. These days, I continue to write about the Braves as well as covering the Astros, Padres, and Angels with particular expertise with minor league coverage, the MLB Draft, and bashing Anthony Rendon when possible. When I am not writing about or talking about baseball (which is seldom), I am an avid baseball card collector (Maddux and Soroka being my primary personal collections) and I also collect shark teeth. All other sports are mostly dead to me as my Bills have broken my heart too many times.