Tim Wakefield. (Paul Marotta/Getty Images for Pedro Martinez Charity)
BOSTON (WBZ NewsRadio) — Former Red Sox pitcher Tim Wakefield talked to WBZ NewsRadio's Adam Kaufman about his 17-year career with Boston, how he feels about the team this season, and more.
Wakefield knows how difficult it can be to go through a season when you're trying to repeat success—he won a pair of World Series with the Sox in 2004 and 2007, and the team followed up both of those championship seasons with second-place finishes in the East and trips to the playoffs.
"It's not easy, especially to start the season," he said. "It's such a short off-season and you're trying to prepare, but not wear yourself out before the season starts. It's definitely the reason they had such a slow start this year, but these guys are too talented."
Kaufman and Wakefield also discussed Wakefield's time playing with future Sox skipper Alex Cora (who he said was "a student of the game" even back in his player days), watching Michael Chavis's incredible career start and other great rookie seasons Wakefield's witnessed, the impact of analytics on pitching in the MLB, and more, which you can hear below.
Wakefield also talked about the Red Sox Foundation's nationwide World Series ring sweepstakes. One lucky fan will get a chance to win an authentic 2018 Boston Red Sox Championship ring, while also supporting the charitable programs the foundation runs and supports.
The winner also gets two Green Monster tickets to the August 10 Red Sox game, round-trip airfare, overnight accommodations, dinner at the Dell EMC Club, and a tour of the Red Sox Hall of Fame.
Each $1 donation to the Red Sox Foundation counts as an entry, with a limit of 500 entries per person. Donations can be made online at redsox.com/win, or by mailing a donation letter to the attention of the Red Sox Foundation at 4 Jersey Street, Boston, MA, 02215.
The deadline for entry is Friday, June 7 at noon.
Listen to the full interview with Adam Kaufman (@AdamMKaufman) and Tim Wakefield (@TimWakefield49)