Tim Wakefield

Tim Wakefield got his 200th Tuesday night. Fenway fans stood and cheered until he came out of the locker room to acknowledge their appreciation. He was visibly moved. On the verge of tears. In addition when the camera panned the faces of his teammates, THEY were visibly moved. They understand, because they are in the trenches with him every day, how exceptional he is, what he means to the team, and what he represents within the sport. He tipped his cap to every corner of Fenway and he did it slowly and with respect. I thought he looked at the fans gratefully; he understands the relationship between rabid, knowledgeable fans and the athletes they pay to cheer. He appreciates the fans. I really believe he feels he is one of them. Not above them.
I hope you saw it. Because the opportunities for you to see something so meaningful in the world of professional sports are becoming increasingly diminished. Soon, the opportunity will be gone.
I have been watching sports since 1964. That is my earliest memory. I was ten. I remember watching football with my Dad. I'm sure I watched lots of sports - The Wide, Wide World of Sports was a Saturday ritual; I watched the Red Sox with my Dad too. I don't remember hockey and basketball being very big in my house. But football sunk it's teeth into my soul and it has never let go. Specifically I remember Jim Brown - the  simple orange helmet - his unbelievable power, his unbelievable grace. He always got up slowly from being tackled. He said he did it to save energy. I thought that was pretty cool.
Over 47 years I have watched professional athletes "evolve" from highly paid professionals who loved what they did and were loyal to their team, to highly paid professionals who love their paychecks and will bounce to another team any time it improves their financial standing, coupled with a better chance at winning a championship.
Tim Wakefield does whatever the team asks him to do. In other words, whatever is good for the team. He has been a starter, he has been a reliever, he has pitched on short rest, he fills whatever pitching role will best benefit The Sox.  He has an annual renewable contract good for $4 million a year. FOUR MILLION DOLLARS.   A-Rod spends that in one weekend on booze, fine food and steroids. Wanna know why Wakefield accepts such a puny payday? Because he loves baseball. Because he knows once you are rich, you are rich. Getting richer is about small penis compensation issues. I'm sure he doesn't have some loud mouth agent negotiating for him; he probably does it face to face with the team; like a man; like a man with dignity; like a man who knows what he has and what he does.
I am reading a history of THE NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS right now. The only thing that infuriates me about the book is that the author has repeatedly referred to football as "product on the field." Corporate fallout. A reflection of the fact that professional sports have become so big that they are considered strictly business. A business with a product. I despise anyone who describes sports or music or any creative endeavor as product. Sports is release, it is passion, it is a lifelong commitment for the athletes, it is a delicious way to get outside your life AND GET PASSIONATE. I doubt Tim Wakefield ever describes baseball as product. I bet he calls it baseball.
Manny Ramirez got arrested for hitting his wife in the same week that Wake got his 200th. Perfect contrast.Opposite ends of the spectrum. He played only when he wanted to play because he knew that he had enough money for ten lifetimes, and he knew that as a "superstar" he could get away with anything. He was a whining, lazy, egotistical, pampered baby. This is where sports is headed. I hope Wake secretly spit in Ramirez's Gatorade once or twice.
I had tears in my eyes watching Wakefield fight back the tears in his. I was profoundly moved by the looks on the faces of his teammates; the respect, the depth of understanding, the love. I truly believe they do love the man. I think they know in this impersonal age of sports as business and athletes as investments that Tim Wakefield is a throwback. A man who appreciates what he has, a man who worked hard to get to where he is at, a man who is unselfishly dedicated to helping his team win.
I sincerely hope you got to see this moment. If not, find it on line and dig it. Learn from it. Feel from it.
There will be fewer and fewer opportunities for you to do so and soon the chance will be gone. By then athletes will have dollar signs on their backs instead of numbers, and corporate endorsements on their sleeves. The playing field will be dominated by Manny Ramirez clones. It will have become product. About as appealing as enema bags.