Red Sox Paid Tribute To Tim Wakefield In This Subtle Way

The Boston Red Sox on Sunday honored the life and baseball career of Tim Wakefield in a subtle way, manager Alex Cora revealed.

Wakefield died Sunday morning at the age of 57.

Rather than wearing their usual team apparel in the dugout, Cora and the Red Sox all donned their navy uniforms with “Boston” across the front. Even those like left-hander Chris Sale, who was never set to pitch in the contest, was seen on the field during postgame handshakes wearing his full uniform.

“I don’t know if you guys noticed, everybody had their jerseys in the dugout,” Cora told reporters after Boston’s 6-1 victory in the team’s regular-season finale, as seen on NESN’s postgame coverage. “It was a tribute to him. Because of all the guys that I played with, nobody wore his jersey with more pride than Tim Wakefield.”

Cora was among the many who shared stories and tributes to Wakefield. NESN broadcaster Kevin Youkilis and analyst Jim Rice, along with longtime Red Sox catcher and current assistant Jason Varitek, also shared heartfelt messages.

“I’m glad that we went out there and we played a clean game. We pitched well. We kind of represented Wake today. And in that aspect, it was a fun day,” Cora told reporters. “I was very proud of this group. To play all the way to the end, that’s something Wake did as as a man, as a husband, as a father and as a player. He played all the way to end.”

Wakefield won two World Series championships with the Red Sox. He was inducted into the Red Sox Hall of Fame in 2016.