2,000th strike-out adds another milestone for Tim Wakefield – MLB News
Tim Wakefield had a moment in his career that was a mixture of both excitement and pride, coupled with a bit of disconcertment. The 44-year-old Boston Red Sox pitcher attained a milestone rare for any baseball pitcher.
On Monday, he not only scored 199th victory of his illustrious career but also had the 2,000th strike-out, bracketing himself with Roger Clemens as the only pitchers achieving this mark. It was a huge moment for the maverick.
Considering the stature of Roger Clemens who constituted a powerful influence on his contemporaries and still draws inspiration from the precocious talents and eager baseball players, Wakefield was immensely pleased.
"It was very emotional for me. I had no idea. Two-thousand (strikeouts) is a very high number and it says something about staying in one place for a long time like I have. Going through ups and downs and being able to persevere over the last 17 years," said
Wakefield.
But there was something laughably different on Monday. Once Wakefield completed his magical spell getting the record of the 2,000th strike-out made, he received a standing ovation despite the fact that he gave up a grand slam.
However, for the team manager, Terry Francona, it is no big deal. What is important is the milestone that the pitcher attained and made another invaluable contribution to the Boston Red Sox which initially did not have a good start in the 2011 MLB regular
season.
"When you've done as much as he's done, it seems like every time he pitches there is something to give him an ovation about," manager Terry Francona said. "It's funny. In a situation like (Sunday's) it's funny because he's not coming out of the game yet,
and I'm not quite sure how to react to that.”
In 2011 season, the star pitcher has so far played 22 games and pitched 92.2 innings. Having given 61 runs and 98 hits, he has 47 strike-outs in the season, which in itself is a great record, having 1.36 WHIP and 92.4 P/GS.
His career now has 616 games with 3164.2 innings. Having been one of the oldest players in baseball and having a long-tenured position of the Red Sox, he has 199 wins to his credit, something of a permanent envy for the contemporaries and future generation
alike.
Even though on Sunday his game against the Seattle Mariners was anything but satisfactory with seven runs and 10 hits, the standing ovation that he got was a testament to the fact that he is widely admired, equally respected and seen with awe as the most
important part of the Boston Red Sox.
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