Tim Wakefield, surrounded by teammates, team executives and friends, announced his retirement from Major League Baseball after 19 seasons, 17 of which he spent as a member of the Boston Red Sox.
"It's with a heavy heart that I stand here today, and I'm saddened to say that I have retired from this wonderful game of baseball," Wakefield said at a press conference in his honor at JetBlue Park in Fort Myers, Florida on Friday afternoon.
Wakefield's was drafted in the eighth round of the 1988 amateur draft by the Pittsburgh Pirates, where he played for two seasons and compiled a 14-12 record with a 4.17 ERA, 110 strikeouts and 110 walks in 37 games. Wakefield was released by the Pirates on April 20, 1995 and signed with the Red Sox on April 26, 1995, where he's been ever since.
In 590 games with the Red Sox, Wakefield had a 4.43 ERA, 2,046 strikeouts, 1,095 walks and a career 1.34 WHIP in 590 games and 430 startes. Wakefield notched his 200th career win last season, making him the franchises' third all-time winningest pitcher. Wakefield helped lead the Red Sox to two World Series championships in 2004 and again in 2007.
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