Mr. Consistency

With the current state of the Red Sox starting rotation, I thought it would be a good time to reflect on the man who is currently 2-1 with a 1.86 ERA.  Of course, going into the season I don't think anyone thought that Tim Wakefield would be arguably the brightest star of the rotation after one month.  Now, obviously its a bit early to be penciling him in for the Cy Young --- but he's definitely deserving of some praise.  

Like him or not, and I suspect most people do have a soft spot for him, no one can deny the professionalism that he's brought to the ball club as he enters into his 15th season with the club.  Let me note that again --- this is his 15th season with the Red Sox.

To put that into a little historical perspective, note the following for the year in which he threw his first pitch for the team (a season that saw him go 16-8, and finish 3rd in Cy Young voting):

• Gallon of gasoline = $1.15
• Top 3 grossing movies: Toy Story, Batman Forever, Apollo 13
• Top 3 TV shows: ER, Seinfeld, Friends

When all is said and done his numbers will most likely not be good enough for any serious Hall of Fame consideration.  However, this should not stop the Sox from retiring his number.  A precedent has been set with the well-deserved (and long over-due) retiring of Johnny Pesky's number.  If the love of (and apparent love for) the fans carries any weight, no one will be wearing number #49 after Wake throws his last knuckler.  Should that not be enough, one only needs to look at the selfless way he has allowed himself to be moved in and out of the bullpen --- notably recording 15 save in 1999, or the fact that when all is said and done he'll probably be the winningest pitcher in Red Sox history.  

Here's how the top 3 currently rank:

1. Roger Clemens, Cy Young: 192 wins each
2. Tim Wakefield: 166 wins

Wouldn't it be nice to have a class-act all by himself at number one on at that list?