It was Sept. 30, 1993, when Wakefield threw the second of back-to-back complete game shutouts at Three Rivers Stadium. He has not pitched in the city since, but he has piled up several more milestones, benchmarks and statistical achievements during that span.
The fact that PNC Park will be the 40th different major league park he has pitched in is one thing. Here are several other lists Wakefield will climb Saturday night and in the coming weeks and months, beginning with the basics:
• With his next win, the 198th of his career, Wakefield will tie Hall of Famer Jack Chesbro, who won 41 games in 1904, and longtime Cincinnati Reds right-hander Bucky Walters, who also played 23 games at third base for the Red Sox in 1934. Chesbro and Walters are tied for 111th on the all-time list.
• Wakefield needs nine wins to tie Roger Clemens and Cy Young atop the franchise leaderboard with 192.
• Saturday marks Wakefield's 575th appearance with Boston. Only Bob Stanley made more appearances, with 637. Wakefield will be making his 612th appearance overall, tied with Jerry Koosman for 177th all-time.
• Wakefield needs 16 strikeouts to become the second Red Sox pitcher (Clemens) to reach 2,000 with Boston. Wakefield needs six Ks to become the 57th pitcher in baseball history to reach 2,100 for his career.
• Saturday marks the 449th start of Wakefield's career. With his next outing, he will become the 79th major leaguer to reach 450 in that category.
• Wakefield needs 17 innings to tie Larry French, a lefty who pitched with the Pirates, Cubs and Dodgers from 1929-1942, for 110th on the all-time list. Wakefield enters with 3,135 innings pitched in his career. He needs 85 1/3 innings to hit 3,000 in a Red Sox uniform. Nobody has hit that mark with Boston.
• Wakefield's next walk will move him into 57th place on the all-time list. He is currently tied with former White Sox left-hander Billy Pierce at 1,178, just seven behind Vida Blue.
• Wakefield has surrendered 403 home runs in his career, 12th all time and just five behind David Wells. With nine more, Wakefield will move into the top 10.
• He ranks 121st all-time in hits allowed with 3,041, just two behind former Red Sox pitcher Mike Torrez (Bucky Dent) and five behind longtime Oriole Milt Pappas.
• Wakefield is tied with five others, including Bob Gibson, with 174 career losses. His next defeat would move him into a tie for 81st all time with Red Donahue, who last threw a pitch in 1906.
• Wakefield needs to give up seven earned runs to tie switch-pitcher Tony Mullane for 35th on the career list.
• If he sees as many as 17 batters on Saturday, Wakefield will move into the top 100 for batters faced. Hall of Famer and NESN's own Dennis Eckersley is 100th with 13,534.
• With his next wild pitch, Wakefield will move into 56th on the career list, one behind Hall of Famer Tom Seaver.
• Wakefield needs five hit batters to tie Mullane for seventh on that list.
