Tim Wakefield having made 16 quality starts (six or more innings, three runs or fewer) at age 42 is amazing enough.
Now he's thrust himself into the upper echelon all time in his age group. Last night's 8-2 win over the Kansas City Royals enabled Wakefield to tie Nolan Ryan (1991), Charlie Hough (1991), and Gaylord Perry (1982) for the 10th-most quality starts in a season by a righthanded pitcher at least 41 years old.
It was fitting, finally, that the Sox erupted for eight runs in the span of three innings to give Wakefield an 8-2 win over the Kansas City Royals and a relatively fret-free night. “He’s pitched so well,” said Terry Francona in praising his veteran knuckleballer. “But you’re human — the guy’s been giving everything he has. I think everybody in the dugout was happy” when they got runs for him.
One is almost 42 years old; the other is 33. One has won 174 games in the major leagues; the other, 18. One has been with the same team since 1995, while the other has been with four organizations since the end of 2006.
But where it counts -- on the pitcher's mound -- Tim Wakefield and R.A. Dickey are more alike than not. Both belong to an exclusive club, which has a membership of two: themselves.
Like some sort of endangered species, they are the only two current major league pitchers who throw a knuckleball. As such, they share a unique kinship.
