George Kirby made sure to find a way to honor Tim Wakefield on the mound on Wednesday afternoon at Fenway Park.
The Seattle Mariners pitcher tossed a 74 mph knuckleball that went high and inside to kick off their matchup with the Boston Red Sox. Though it got away for him a bit, the move to honor the longtime Red Sox knuckleball pitcher was something he had been planning for quite some time.
“I was thinking about it for like the last two or three weeks,” Kirby said, via The Seattle Times. “I loved watching the guy. He was a special player. So just being able to do it here in Boston was pretty cool.”
George Kirby threw a knuckleball to begin Wednesday’s game against the Red Sox to pay tribute to Tim Wakefield ❤️
“He was a special player. So just being able to do it here in Boston was pretty cool.” – George Kirby pic.twitter.com/3vLyb7yEGZ
— MLB (@MLB) August 1, 2024
Wakefield spent 17 seasons with the Red Sox and helped lead the franchise to a pair of World Series wins, first in 2004 and again in 2007. He owns all-time team records in starts and innings pitched, too, and is the all-time Fenway Park leader with starts and innings played at the iconic stadium
Wakefield died last fall after a long battle with cancer. He was 57.
“I loved watching him,” Kirby said of Wakefield, via The Times. “I started throwing knuckleballs because of him. Even though I grew up a Yankees fan at heart, I loved just watched him do his thing all the time. It was incredible. It’s just an honor to be able to do something like that.”
Kirby lasted just more than five innings on the mound on Wednesday in their 3-2 loss to the Red Sox. He had two strikeouts and allowed seven hits and two runs before he was pulled. The 26-year-old has an 8-7 record in 23 games this season while holding a career-best 3.04 ERA.
The Red Sox escaped with the 1-0 win after Rafael Devers hit a RBI double in the 10th inning. The Mariners dropped to 57-53 on the year with Wednesday’s loss, which is in line with the Houston Astros for first in the AL West standings.
Though his tribute pitch wasn’t a strike, Kirby is still very happy with how it all worked out. After all, it could’ve been much worse.
“I was just hoping it wasn’t a home run first pitch or something,” Kirby said, via The Times. “I just wanted to get it over the plate.”
