Spring Training Red Sox Report

Editor’s Note: Bangor Daily News staffers Andrew Neff and John Clarke Russ are in Florida covering the defending World Series Champion Red Sox in spring training. Catch their stories and photos all next week in the BDN and at bangordailynews.com.

FORT MYERS, Fla. – His personality is about as overpowering as one of his fluttering, 65 mph knuckleballs.

With 15 years of Major League Baseball – the last 13 with the same team – plus numerous awards to his credit, not to mention the distinction of having success as a starter, long reliever and even a closer, Tim Wakefield has much to justifiably talk and brag about.

But he doesn’t.

Even when prompted by a question about being a player who already has attained historic success and elite-level status at Boston, Wakefield seems at best embarrassed and at worst annoyed with talking about himself in comparison to past Red Sox standouts.

“To me, it just means I’ve been here for a long period of time,” he said. “To be mentioned alongside some of the greatest guys, in my mind, who’ve played in a Red Sox uniform is amazing, but I also feel lucky to have worn the same uniform for so long.”

It’s pretty safe to say most Sox fans feel lucky to have the 41-year-old knuckleball pitcher on the staff for a 14th straight season.

His teammates and manager do.

“He does do a tremendous job to represent what players should be for an organization,” said Sox catcher and captain Jason Varitek. “He does something special – year in and out – being able to take that ball, and you can count on a lot of innings out of him.”

Even if all the Melbourne native did was provide veteran calm, leadership and counsel in Boston’s locker room, he’d be a valued asset, but Wakefield’s contributions extend far beyond the clubhouse.

He has helped lead the Sox to two World Series titles in the last four years by averaging 13 wins a season with a 4.58 ERA from 2004 through 2007. He also has been a workhorse, averaging 185 2/3 innings a season in that span.

“The uniqueness of him – I think what it does is it sometimes makes things he’s accomplished fly under the radar,” Sox manager Terry Francona said. “I think people think he can pitch nine innings today, nine tomorrow and oh, why not go in the bullpen the next day, too?

“He’s 41, but he’s been incredibly durable and incredibly consistent while using a pitch that’s not very consistent.”

Brass knuckles

If it’s possible to do so, Timothy Stephen Wakefield quietly and almost unnoticeably has become one of the three most productive pitchers for one of baseball’s most storied and long-standing franchises.

“The niche and the bond he’s created in Boston is unprecedented,” said Curt Schilling, a veteran of 17 big league seasons and one of the game’s greats as well. “You’re talking about only Cy Young and Roger Clemens being ahead of him in wins on the team.

“I want to see him win 200 games and be Boston’s winningest pitcher,” Schilling said.

With 1,680 strikeouts, Wakefield now ranks third all-time among Red Sox pitchers. Only Roger Clemens (2,590) and Pedro Martinez (1,683) have more. Wakefield’s 154 victories also put him third in the Sox rotation all-time, behind Clemens and Cy Young – yes, the one the award is named after – who have 192 each.

Still, it seems Wakefield’s teammates are more excited and eager to see him move up those lists than he is. It’s just not a priority for him.

“It’s not,” the 6-foot-2, 210-pound righthander said. “It’s a milestone, but it’s my job. It’s not my life.”

That’s not to say he takes such accomplishments lightly. Wakefield is a throwback type of player, aware and respectful of the game’s history and former stars.

“He plays the game in a fashion much like guys did decades ago, and I think it’s because he has so much respect for baseball,” said Doug Mirabelli, who is entering his eighth season as Wakefield’s catcher.

Wakefield has more pressing concerns, such as getting his 41-year-old body ready for the rigors of a 15th 162-game season.

Wakefield is off to a solid start with five innings of two-hit, shutout ball. He has struck out three batters and walked two after making his second start of the spring Thursday.

“I felt good and it was good to get my pitch count up to 48 or 49. I pitched out of a couple jams, which was good,” he said. “You don’t like to be in them, but it’s good to work on them down here in spring training. Everything felt fine.”

Wakefield is constantly trying to better himself, as a side session with pitching coach John Farrell earlier this week showed.

“I’ve been working on my times to the plate. The first couple games it was pretty high and guys run on me because of the [knuckleball]” he said. “I’ve basically been trying to get the rust off and make sure my mechanics are sound.”

Because of his slow delivery and the speed of the knuckleball, runners tend to steal more on Wakefield. He’s trying to hold runners on more often by cutting his delivery times from 1.6 to 1.4 or 1.5 seconds.

“I’m trying to give my catcher as much of an advantage as possible,” he said.

That kind of work ethic has endeared him to teammates.

“Everyone in this clubhouse knows what kind of teammate he is,” Mirabelli said. “He does whatever it takes and whatever he can do, setting his ego aside and going to the bullpen when we need him there, even though he’s always preferred to be a starter and I think that’s why people respect him so much.”

Although he has pitched exclusively in a starting role the last three seasons, Wakefield earned 15 saves as a closer in 1999 and has 22 total (all with Boston) to his credit.

“It’s hard to fathom my career, let alone my career with one team. It’s unbelievable,” the stoic Wakefield said with a smile.

No knuckling under to time

Wakefield has the only deal of its kind in the majors – an annually renewable “lifetime” contract with the Sox. The significance is not lost on him.

“It makes me feel like I’m respected,” he said. “When I signed the deal, the biggest thing is it wasn’t the money anymore, it was about loyalty and wanting to stay here and pitch the rest of my career so it was a no-brainer for both sides.”

It’s a big slice of certainty and reliability for a guy who makes his living using a pitch known for its uncertainty.

“I’d argue he could have the same knuckleball on Friday that he had on Monday and throw a no-hitter on one day and not get out of the first inning in the other,” Schilling said. “There’s a part of what he does that’s left to chance and you have to be able to accept that from a performance standpoint.

“I think he has to be mentally far beyond what most people are to continually go out there and do what he does. I marvel at it because so few people have ever done it. I can’t do it. I’ve tried and tried, but it’s not something I’ll ever be able to do.”

Think throwing it is hard? Try catching it.

“You’re subject to whatever the ball does, and it can do almost anything,” said Varitek. “It can go in any possible direction – north, south, east or west or a combination of any of them- and then start heading upwards.

“I just worried about getting leather on it rather than trying to understand it.”

Thanks to Mirabelli, Varitek doesn’t have to do either anymore.

“Most of it’s through trial and error, trying to perfect catching the ball. I’ve worked hard at it, but I’ve also had really good hand-eye coordination,” Mirabelli said. “I don’t expect to miss one. I know it happens, but I feel confident I’m not going to.”

Wakefield says that, without a doubt, Mirabelli is the catcher with whom he has been most in sync his entire career.

“I think every year we do it, the more in sync we get,” Mirabelli said. “I’m getting better at recognizing things he does.”

How long can Wakefield keep this up? He won’t say, but a few close to him expect him to stick around for the foreseeable future.

“When you get to be his age, you have to work hard – harder, actually – to do what you can do,” Francona said. “I heard Brett Favre talking along those same lines. He knows he can still play, but he’s not sure he wants to put in the time necessary to keep himself at that level.”

Mirabelli agrees.

“It’s not so much how long he can do it, it’s more how long does he want to do it,” he said. “This is the time of year that’s tough because of all the stuff you have to do to prepare for the season, but I expect him to play a few more years.”

aneff@bangordailynews.net

990-8205

More Sox action… Look for reports from Florida on spring training all next week in your Bangor Daily News.