Monday, July 13, 2009

The Straight Pitch on All-Star Tim Wakefield and His Knuckleball


Because I do not have to try to hit it, I love watching Tim Wakefield throw the knuckle ball. My usual seats at Fenway Park are in the grandstands right behind home plate, so I get to see the pitch dance and dart and drive opposing batters to distraction. If you are a baseball fan at all, you are aware that tomorrow night, Wakefield will make his first All-Star appearance at age 42. The only other player to make a first appearance with more years under his belt was the ageless Satchel Paige.

Wakefield's story is an inspiring one - not just because of his non-traditional path to success, but also because of the character of the man. Wakefield the man is as straight and true as his pitches are erratic. In today's Boston Globe, Adam Kilgore has written a very moving story about Wakefield's journey. The story brought tears to my eyes, and I felt I wanted to share it with readers of The White Rhino Report.

Globe article

Enjoy.

Go Sox!

Al

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Al,
I start by saying that I love Tim Wakefield and end by saying that a friend told me "one day, your son might play for the Red Sox". I, being a Giant's and Athletic's fan, took offense quickly and told him that I would post a comment on your blog. This being the first "SOX" blog I came to, here it is. The Sox are the Yankees. They despise one another because of the similarities in each other. The "evil empire" is made up of twins(and not the kind from Canada's little sister). Is there a Steinbrenner waiting to learn of Paul Revere's famous ride or wanting to participate in a tea party? One is left to wonder if Johnny Damon feels at home as he ever did against that Green Monster. Is Schilling's sock laced with Pinstripes? Finally, in closing, even Darth Vader's empire wasnt this bad. Where is MLB's Luke Skywalker?