Boston Red Sox to Wear Jersey Patch Honoring Late Franchise Legend Tim Wakefield

The Boston Red Sox will wear "49" patches on their jerseys in 2024 to honor knuckleballer Tim Wakefield, who died due to brain cancer last fall.

The Boston Red Sox will wear patches on their jerseys honoring longtime franchise mainstay Tim Wakefield this season, The Boston Herald's Gabrielle Starr reported Monday.

Wakefield died in October following a seizure resulting from brain cancer. He was 57 years old.

The patches will feature Wakefield's No. 49, which he wore on his jersey with the Red Sox from 1995 to 2011.

The Red Sox will be wearing ‘49’ patches to honor the late, great Tim Wakefield this season.

— Gabrielle Starr (@gfstarr1) February 19, 2024

The knuckleballer went 200-180 with a 4.41 ERA and 34.4 WAR for his career, including his two seasons with the Pittsburgh Pirates in the early 1990s.

Wakefield made his first and only All-Star appearance in 2009, at which point he was 42 years old. He ranks third in career wins in Red Sox history with 186, trailing only Cy Young and Roger Clemens, and his 3,006.0 innings pitched are a franchise record.

In addition to being a two-time World Series champion, Wakefield also won the Roberto Clemente Award in 2010.

Following his retirement, Wakefield worked as a commentator for NESN, the regional sports network that covered the Red Sox.

The Red Sox most recently wore honorary patches on their jerseys in 2022, following the death of former player and NESN broadcaster Jerry Remy. Boston's jerseys had Remy's No. 2 on their left sleeves throughout that season.

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