Ranking the 3 Best Moments of Tim Wakefield's Red Sox Career

2. Making the All-Star Team

Many baseball players go their entire careers without ever making an All-Star team, but Wakefield wasn't one of them.

The 2009 campaign was Wakefield's 17th season, and it was starting to look like he would never make one. He'd already been passed over during his best year in 1995 (16-8, 2.95 ERA), and time was running out for the veteran knuckleballer.

Fortunately, the league made it up to him in '09. He started the season on fire, taking an MLB-best 11-3 record into the All-Star break. That was enough to make him an All-Star for the first and only time in his career. At 42, he was the second-oldest first-time All-Star in MLB history, behind only Hall of Famer Satchel Paige.

Wakefield didn't get to pitch in the game (a 4-3 American League victory in St. Louis), but just being invited to the Midsummer Classic is cool enough. He tailed off in the second half of the season and was never quite the same pitcher after that, so 2009 really did end up being his last, best chance to be an All-Star. Fortunately he got it -- better late than never.