A fan approached former Boston Red Sox first baseman Kevin Millar on the golf course this week. Like so many others at this celebrity tournament, he had a Tim Wakefield memory to share.
The junior college pitcher told Millar he walked this same course last year with the All-Star knuckleballer.
The fan told him: “It was the best day I’ve ever had. I got to talk to a major-league pitcher. And he told me some things I took into my season last year that I think really helped me.”
Millar paused.
“And I immediately get chills right here on No. 9,’’ the former infielder said. “That’s how Tim touched lives. Here’s a young man chasing his dream, and Tim tells him something about mechanics that he took into his season and had a great year. That stuff is awesome.”
As if the memories aren’t enough, there are reminders of Wakefield everywhere at the American Century Championship in Stateline, Nev.
Every player wore a No. 49 on their hats as a nod to Wakefield’s jersey number. The No. 49 was stenciled into the fairway 49 yards off the 18th tee box. The No. 18 flag had the No. 49 logo on it. NBC’s coverage of the final round Sunday will include a Jimmy Roberts feature on Tim and Stacy Wakefield, who both tragically died of cancer within the last year.
Every player at the American Century Classic wore a hat featuring Tim Wakefield’s jersey number during the ACC Celebrity Golf Championship. (David Calvert / Getty Images)
The couple were a beloved staple here for 11 consecutive years. So in honor of the first tournament since their deaths, organizers ensured they would not be forgotten.
“I don’t know if you folks have ever been to a press conference and seen three grown men cry, but you might have the opportunity to do so in a couple of minutes here,’’ NBC executive Gary Quinn, who was friends with the Wakefields, said during a media session Wednesday.
NBC pledged to honor the Wakefields by donating $10,000 annually to the South Lake Tahoe Recreational and Aquatic Center. Fittingly, the first donation will go toward two pitching machines for the center, which is slated to open in 2026.
“Obviously, you can imagine during this week how many hands are out, people asking for things, and the usual first instinct is: ‘What’s in it for me?’’’ Quinn said. “With Tim and Stacy, it was always ‘What can I do for you?’ That’s the kind of people that they were.
“I think the great thing is that Tim and Stacy can smile down knowing that (the rec center) is going to be the centerpiece for the community. It’s going to be a rallying point for people to come and enjoy themselves, and their name is going to be adorned in the lobby on a plaque there for as long as that center is there.”
Tim Wakefield died of brain cancer at the age of 57 on Oct. 1. The popular two-time World Series champion won 200 games in the majors, including 186 for Boston. Only Cy Young and Roger Clemens, who both had 192, had more wins for the Red Sox.
Stacy Wakefield died five months later of pancreatic cancer. She was 53. They had been married since 2002 and had two children, Trevor and Brianna.
“For everybody that had a chance to be around Timmy, the first question is ‘why?’” Millar said during the news conference at the Edgewood Tahoe Golf Course. “How does a high school senior, his daughter, Brianna, lose mom and dad within a six-month span? Then Trevor, with severe autism, a wonderful child, loses mom and dad. What’s next?”
Former Red Sox player Kevin Millar recalled Tim Wakefield’s knack for being good at everything during the ACC Celebrity Golf Championship. (David Calvert / Getty Images)
Millar, who played for the Red Sox from 2003 to 2006, said the grief remains fresh. He recalled the emotional experience of attending the reunion of the 2004 World Series champions at Fenway Park in April.
Millar said Brianna and Trevor attended what was otherwise a players-only meeting. In that setting, former outfielder Trot Nixon got up and gave “an unbelievable speech.”
“He basically said this: ‘You have 17 to 20 dads and uncles in this room. You call me. If I don’t answer, you call Mike Timlin, David Ortiz, Kevin Millar’ — he went down the list,’’ Millar said. “That’s the only way we can look at and deal with this kind of stuff when you’re talking about the children’s side and the family side, what’s next for them.”
Millar played at the American Century Classic several times with Wakefield, who finished 24th in last year’s tournament. The first baseman/outfielder said the pitcher was good at everything, to an annoying degree.
“He dominated life,’’ Millar, 52, said. “He was a scratch golfer. He’d get over that ball, hit it right down the middle about 275 yards with a little bit of a draw. Chips and putts. He always dressed perfectly. He read this book that I’m still trying to read. … He taught me how to play the guitar. Every night on the road, we’d bring our guitars — Bronson Arroyo, Tim and myself. I’d learn the D and C and G and A minor, and they’re playing cool stuff by the bonfire, from Metallica to Toby Keith to Alice in Chains.
“He was a great human being, a great man. He was more than a friend, he was family. Definitely a tough punch to the stomach.”
Mark Killen, a senior vice president for American Century Investments, became close with the Wakefields over the years. During the announcement about the donation in their honor, he read from a note that Stacy found after Tim died:
“Never forget where you came from. Be a mentor to others. You didn’t get to where you are today by yourself, and no matter what status you accomplish in life, you should assume the responsibility to help those who are less fortunate than you.”
“That’s Tim and Stacy Wakefield,’’ Killen said. “Just wonderful, caring, loving people.”
(Top photo: Isaiah Vazquez / Getty Images)
