Reilly
02-06-2005, 06:00 AM
BostonGM.com Q&A: Tim Wakefield (Pt 2)
By Jerry Beach (javascript:location.href='http://search.scout.com/a.z?s=254&p=4&c=1&search=1&sskey=%22' + escape('Jerry Beach') + '%22&sssiteid=254';)
Date: Feb 2, 2005
Q: Did you go into the offseason knowing the Sox couldn’t keep everyone together?
A: I don’t think that’s the organization’s thought process. They were trying to sign as many people as we could. Obviously, we tried to sign Pedro back, and Varitek was the most important thing. And sometimes you can’t get it done and you have to resort to other ways, and I think they did a great job with the acquisitions [of] Wade Miller (http://scout.scout.com/a.z?s=254&p=8&c=1&nid=1263447), Matt Clement (http://scout.scout.com/a.z?s=254&p=8&c=1&nid=1104964) and David Wells (http://scout.scout.com/a.z?s=254&p=8&c=1&nid=1102257).
Q: Of all the things fans have said to you this winter, what has been the most meaningful?
A: The biggest thing I get is a thank you—a hand shake and a thank you. I think that’s touches me more than anything, knowing we affected not only their generation but also previous generations and future generations. We accomplished a feat that a lot of people have been waiting a long time to see.
I think the biggest thing that touched me the most was being able to hand Johnny Pesky the [World Series] trophy in St. Louis that night [they won]. And then a couple days later, I saw Dwight Evans in the clubhouse and [he] shook my hand and said ‘thanks. I was glad to see that you guys could get it done. We’ve tried so many times to get it done [and] we never could get it done.’ It’s for the former players that have been part of the organization for such a long time—guys like Jim Rice and Luis Tiant and Dwight Evans and Johnny Pesky and Bobby Doerr, Don DiMaggio, guys like that. It’s really special that we were able to have them experience us winning the World Series.
Q: You were perhaps the most emotional player following the World Series-clinching win. Were you surprised at that?
A: [Laughs] No. Sometimes, I hold a lot in and it just comes out the way it comes out. And I try not to hide it. That’s what we’re supposed to do, I think. You work so hard for so long to accomplish one goal, and you finally accomplish it—all that hard work and sweat and tears and grinding it out for two or three months that we had to grind it out to finally get to that ultimate goal. And it was truly a special moment, not only in my career but in my lifetime. Being able to share it with so many people was truly a special moment.
By Jerry Beach (javascript:location.href='http://search.scout.com/a.z?s=254&p=4&c=1&search=1&sskey=%22' + escape('Jerry Beach') + '%22&sssiteid=254';)
Date: Feb 2, 2005
Q: Did you go into the offseason knowing the Sox couldn’t keep everyone together?
A: I don’t think that’s the organization’s thought process. They were trying to sign as many people as we could. Obviously, we tried to sign Pedro back, and Varitek was the most important thing. And sometimes you can’t get it done and you have to resort to other ways, and I think they did a great job with the acquisitions [of] Wade Miller (http://scout.scout.com/a.z?s=254&p=8&c=1&nid=1263447), Matt Clement (http://scout.scout.com/a.z?s=254&p=8&c=1&nid=1104964) and David Wells (http://scout.scout.com/a.z?s=254&p=8&c=1&nid=1102257).
Q: Of all the things fans have said to you this winter, what has been the most meaningful?
A: The biggest thing I get is a thank you—a hand shake and a thank you. I think that’s touches me more than anything, knowing we affected not only their generation but also previous generations and future generations. We accomplished a feat that a lot of people have been waiting a long time to see.
I think the biggest thing that touched me the most was being able to hand Johnny Pesky the [World Series] trophy in St. Louis that night [they won]. And then a couple days later, I saw Dwight Evans in the clubhouse and [he] shook my hand and said ‘thanks. I was glad to see that you guys could get it done. We’ve tried so many times to get it done [and] we never could get it done.’ It’s for the former players that have been part of the organization for such a long time—guys like Jim Rice and Luis Tiant and Dwight Evans and Johnny Pesky and Bobby Doerr, Don DiMaggio, guys like that. It’s really special that we were able to have them experience us winning the World Series.
Q: You were perhaps the most emotional player following the World Series-clinching win. Were you surprised at that?
A: [Laughs] No. Sometimes, I hold a lot in and it just comes out the way it comes out. And I try not to hide it. That’s what we’re supposed to do, I think. You work so hard for so long to accomplish one goal, and you finally accomplish it—all that hard work and sweat and tears and grinding it out for two or three months that we had to grind it out to finally get to that ultimate goal. And it was truly a special moment, not only in my career but in my lifetime. Being able to share it with so many people was truly a special moment.