Old knuckleballer cracks first All-Star team
BOSTON – Tim Wakefield(notes) was in the weight room when Red Sox pitching coach John Farrell ducked his head in Sunday morning and said that the knuckleballer was wanted in Terry Francona's office.
The office door was closed when Wakefield arrived; when it opened, Wakefield saw a stream of teammates – Jonathan Papelbon(notes), Dustin Pedroia(notes), Kevin Youkilis(notes), Josh Beckett(notes) and Jason Bay(notes) – all walking out with All-Star packets for the July 14 game in St. Louis. Francona, with a solemn face, beckoned for Wakefield to enter.
The charade didn't last. Francona, a better manager than actor, cracked up, and informed Wakefield that he, too, was an All-Star for the first time in his 17-year career. Wakefield was added to the American League staff by Tampa Bay manager Joe Maddon after the players voted in five starters and three relievers, proving, to paraphrase Muhammad Ali, that a knuckleball can float like a butterfly and sting like a bee.
Tim Wakefield made the All-Star team for the first time in his 17-year career.
(Getty Images)
"I feel very honored and humbled at the same time, excited and nervous,'' said Wakefield, a failed minor league first baseman who took up the knuckleball as a last chance to salvage his career, had a sensational rookie debut with Pittsburgh in 1992 only to be released three years later, was grabbed off the scrap heap by Boston and now ranks as elder statesman on the Red Sox.
At 42 years and 346 days, Wakefield becomes the second-oldest player to make his All-Star debut, behind only the legendary Satchel Paige, who was 46 years and 1 day when he represented the St. Louis Browns at the 1952 game. (Paige did not pitch in that game, but pitched an inning in the '53 game, at the age of 47 years and seven days, the oldest All-Star ever.)
Given the shelf life of knuckleballers – Hoyt Wilhelm pitched until he was 49, Phil Niekro until he was 48 and Charlie Hough until he was 46 – Wakefield could challenge Paige. Hough, by comparison, was a mere lad of 38 when he appeared in his only All-Star game, in 1986, the last knuckleballer to be so honored.
"Maybe,'' Wakefield said of passing Paige. "We've got a few more years to decide that.''
Wakefield has an unusual contractual agreement with the Red Sox: a standing $4 million, recurring team option. Each time the Red Sox exercise the option, another one-year option is added to the deal.
Earlier this week, Wakefield passed Roger Clemens(notes) for most starts made by a pitcher in a Boston Red Sox uniform, 383. A winner of 10 games this season, one of four AL pitchers to reach that number, Wakefield needs 19 more wins to pass Clemens and Cy Young for most by a pitcher in a Red Sox uniform (192). Sunday, he received a standing ovation from the sellout crowd of 37,691 when his selection was announced.
"He is a very consistent pitcher with a very inconsistent pitch,'' Francona said.
Wakefield admitted he was wondering who might be his catcher in St. Louis. Minnesota's Joe Mauer(notes) and Cleveland's Victor Martinez(notes) are the AL catchers. Mauer has some experience catching a knuckler, having handled R.A. Dickey(notes) out of the Twins' bullpen this season.
It can be an adventure. Hough in the 1986 game entered with a 3-0 lead and pitched a 1-2-3 seventh, but in the eighth, Chris Brown of the Giants doubled, took third on a wild-pitch third strike, then scored on a third-strike passed ball.
"That was embarrassing,'' catcher Rich Gedman said at the time. Gedman hadn't caught a knuckleballer before and wasn't helped by the oversized glove Hough brought to the game.
Wakefield, who has been counseled by both Niekro and Hough, wasn't about to criticize a member of the knuckleballing fraternity. Told of the wild pitch and passed ball, he said: "That just means the pitch was moving good, the way it should.''
Other All-Star observations
By popular demand
All-Star votes broken down along league lines among the starting position players:
(Voting in millions)
 | ||||
Player | Pos. | Team | Votes | |
1. | SS | Yankees | 4.8 | |
2. | C | Twins | 4.3 | |
3. | 3B | Rays | 4.3 | |
4. | OF | Red Sox | 4.0 | |
5. | 2B | Red Sox | 3.4 | |
6. | 1B | Yankees | 3.3 | |
7. | OF | Mariners | 2.8 | |
8. | OF | Rangers | 2.4 | |
 | ||||
Player | Pos. | Team | Votes | |
1. | 1B | Cardinals | 5.3 | |
2. | 2B | Phillies | 5.0 | |
3. | OF | Brewers | 4.1 | |
4. | OF | Phillies | 4.0 | |
5. | SS | Marlins | 3.2 | |
6. | 3B | Mets | 3.1 | |
7. | OF | Mets | 2.8 | |
8. | C | Cardinals | 2.6 | |
Manny's grandmothers are safe: Manny Ramirez(notes) finished seventh among National League outfielders with 1.73 million votes, so we'll be spared hearing him blame a no-show on his grandmother dying, a fanciful excuse he's used in the past. Even former President George W. Bush took note; when Ramirez missed the Red Sox's White House visit in 2008, Bush said, "His grandmother must have died again.'' Ramirez's 50-game suspension did not keep him from finishing with almost a half-million more votes than Arizona's Justin Upton(notes) and more than double the votes received by Houston's Hunter Pence(notes), outfielders selected as reserves. If Ramirez's name appeared on the ballot for the NL's 33rd pick, the so-called "final vote," does anyone doubt who'd win that popularity contest?
A scarlet "A" for A-Rod? Alex Rodriguez(notes) is a 12-time All-Star, including each of the last nine seasons, and led all players in voting in each of the previous two seasons. But there will be no A-Rod in St. Louis. Is the hip to blame, or the steroids revelations? Even after undergoing hip surgery, Rodriguez has played more games than AL All-Star outfield starter Josh Hamilton(notes), and has more home runs and RBIs than NL All-Star starter Carlos Beltran(notes), who also has been hurt. An enduringly popular player almost certainly would have carried the day on past excellence alone. But while Rodriguez received over 2 million votes, fans, Maddon and the commissioner's office didn't feel obligated to include A-Rod. In his case, the steroids were radioactive.
Worst snub, NL: Milwaukee's Trevor Hoffman(notes). The game's all-time saves leader, not to mention one of its great citizens, was cut loose by the Padres after last season, but at age 41, the six-time All-Star has 18 saves for the Brewers, a big reason Milwaukee began Sunday tied with St. Louis for the lead in the NL Central.
Worst snub, AL: Texas' Ian Kinsler(notes). He could still make the club in the runoff vote, but Kinsler's 38 extra-base hits, including 19 home runs, were most among AL second basemen, and he also had 16 stolen bases. A case could also be made for Miguel Cabrera(notes) of the Tigers, but once Mark Teixeira(notes), who has lesser numbers, was chosen by the fans at first base, Cabrera was going to be aced out, even though he ranks third in the league in hitting.
Shakiest bona fides, AL: Oakland's Andrew Bailey(notes). Someone from the Athletics had to be selected, and the rookie reliever with just eight saves, a total eclipsed by the closers for 11 other AL teams, was the pick. But give Bailey credit for coming back from Tommy John surgery in college and becoming just the third big-leaguer from Wagner College (N.Y.), joining Curt Blefary and Al Severinsen, and the first All-Star from the Seahawks of Staten Island.
Shakiest bona fides, NL: There's no "What were they thinking?" pick. A case could be made that Washington's Adam Dunn(notes) deserved to go ahead of Pence – Dunn had twice as many home runs (22 to 11), 25 more RBIs (59 to 34), and an OPS 76 percentage points higher (.946 to .867) – but catching the ball still remains part of the game.
Hill toppers: The announcement of starting pitchers won't come until the day before the game, but the leading nominees are defending Cy Young Award winner Tim Lincecum(notes) for the NL and pitcher of the decade Roy Halladay(notes) for the AL. Kansas City ace Zack Greinke(notes) was spectacular for the season's first two months (8-1, 1.10 ERA), merely good since (2-3, 3.89).
Who's going to catch? MLB added a 13th pitcher to each roster last week, for a total of 33 players on each squad, but neither Maddon nor NL manager Charlie Manuel elected to carry a third catcher. That's not unprecedented, but considering last year's game went 15 innings, it's risky business. An injury could make for a long night for someone behind the plate. An injury to one of the backups, Brian McCann(notes) of the NL and Martinez in the AL, forces someone to play out of position. AL utilityman Ben Zobrist(notes) has started games at six positions – all three outfield spots, short, second and third, but even Zobrist hasn't gone behind the plate. "If they run out of pitchers or catchers, that's Joe's problem,'' said Boston manager Terry Francona, who managed the AL All-Stars to their win last season.
The Kung-Fu Panda needs your love: He's fourth in the league in hitting, and one of two Giants with more than 10 home runs. He has played third and first, and even made a couple of starts behind the plate. He's listed at 5-11 and 245 pounds, and this being a month before his 23rd birthday, he's still a growing boy – the mind reels at the possibilities. He's Pablo Sandoval(notes) of the San Francisco Giants, he didn't make Manuel's cut, and he's now on the online ballot for the "final vote" for the 33rd player on the NL roster. He deserves to go.
Alphabet soup: Zobrist becomes the 10th player whose name begins with a "Z" to make an All-Star team, the first since 2006, when Carlos Zambrano(notes) of the Cubs and Barry Zito(notes), then of the Athletics, were named to the NL and AL teams, respectively. Zobrist becomes the last entry alphabetically on the All-Star roster; there could have been a new name at the front of the list, too, but Maddon passed on taking Seattle closer David Aardsma(notes), despite his 1.41 ERA, 17 saves, and .165 opponents' batting average.
