Boston Red Sox: Top 5 franchise players of the 1990s

Tim Wakefield

The man who was never supposed to be a pitcher ended up building a 19-year career as one, including 17 of those in Boston. There was nothing quite like the magic of Tim Wakefield and his knuckleball.

Wakefield ended up winning 200 career games. He arrived in Boston in 1995 and was later a key player in their playoff success (and disappointments) in the 2000s.

Wakefield was one of Boston’s top pitchers — if not best — in his first four seasons with the Red Sox. He went 16-8 with a 2.95 ERA back in 1995. Wakefield’s success in this season garnered him enough votes to finish third in the Cy Young Award voting, the only time in his career he had such hardware recognition.

It was part of a four-year stretch in which Wakefield won 59 games for the Red Sox. An innings eater, Wakefield also pitched over 200 innings in three seasons during his ’90’s run and was often one of Boston’s most consistent pitchers.

Wakefield’s postseason appearances for Boston during the ’90s would rather be forgotten. He appeared in four games, starting two. All were short-lived as Wakefield tossed only 8.2 innings while allowing 15 runs.

Still, the Red Sox wouldn’t have had the success they did the latter half of the ’90s without the ol’ knuckleballer taking the hill.