page_title: Tim Wakefield
section_title: 1995–1998
hierarchical_section_title: Tim Wakefield / Professional career / Boston Red Sox / 1995–1998
caption_attribution_description: English: Tim Wakefield throwing a knuckleball. This was taken with a 300mm Canon telephoto lens from 7th row seats, behind home plate, at Camden Yards. Somebody posted to a local mailing list offering three tickets, without explanation. I just got lucky. Deutsch: Tim Wakefield beim Werfen eines Knuckleball
context_page_description: Timothy Stephen Wakefield is an American former professional baseball pitcher. Wakefield began his pitching career with the Pittsburgh Pirates, but is most remembered for his 17-year tenure with the Boston Red Sox, from 1995 till his retirement in 2012 as the longest-serving player on the team. When he retired, Wakefield was the oldest active player in the majors.
  Known for his signature knuckleball, Wakefield won his 200th career game on September 13, 2011, against the Toronto Blue Jays, and is third on the Boston Red Sox with 186 team victories, behind Cy Young and Roger Clemens. He is second in all-time wins at Fenway Park with 97, behind Roger Clemens's 100, and is first all-time in innings pitched by a Red Sox pitcher, with 3,006, having surpassed Clemens's total of 2,777 on June 8, 2010.
  Wakefield was nominated eight times for the Roberto Clemente Award, winning it in 2010.
context_section_description: With the Boston Red Sox rotation struggling from injuries to top of the rotation starters Roger Clemens and Aaron Sele early in the 1995 season, Wakefield was called up from Triple A, and soon proved to be their most dependable starter. He began the season with a 1.65 ERA and a 14–1 record through 17 games, 6 of which were complete games. He ended the year 16–8 with a 2.95 ERA, helping the Red Sox win the American League East division title, and capturing the Sporting News American League Comeback Player of the Year. He finished third in the AL Cy Young Award balloting.
  Over the next three seasons (1996–1998), Wakefield won 45 games and had ERAs of 5.14, 4.25 and 4.58 over the three seasons as a starter. In 1997, he led Major League Baseball by hitting 16 batters with a pitch.  He would repeat this feat in 2001 plunking a career-high 18 batters.
caption: Wakefield throwing a knuckleball
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