Wakefield Not Your Prototypical All-Star

After 17 seasons as a pro, crafty Red Sox knuckleballer Tim Wakefield has finally found his way into his first Midsummer Classic.

The honor is rightfully his, especially after the way he’s pitched
through the first half of the season. Wake leads the league with a
hearty 11 wins, and not only has he collected those W’s in a
businesslike fashion, he’s kept his team in every contest (with only
minor hiccups) thus far.

Snagging that All-Star nod was no easy task either. See, a
knuckleball pitcher is not as attractive to lots of fans as a guy who
throws flames and is partial to the strikeout. A pitcher who coaxes the
opposition into a handful of first-pitch-swinging pop-ups isn’t what
the fans come to see. They come for the big, hard-throwing hurler. This
is something Wakefield clearly is not! Not to detract from his prowess
on the mound, but he’s not really what comes to mind when you envision
a guy with double-digit wins before the break.

Nonetheless, Wakefield has soldiered his way through the first half
as quite possibly the most reliable pitcher on the Sox’ staff, and for
that he will get the chance to pitch in front of a national audience to
the best hitters in the National League.

So how will Wake fare in his first All-Star extravaganza? Well, if
he tackles the task as ferociously as he has the American League East,
then he should be just fine. After all, what’s the worst that could
happen? He gives up a run or two, gets it out of his system and comes
back and dominates for the Sox the second half of the season. That
would be nice.

But for Wake’s sake, I hope he goes out there, throws three pitches and gets back in the dugout unscathed.

Have a good break, Tim. Enjoy St. Louis. I hear it’s nice this time of year.