FORT MYERS, Fla. -- Tim Wakefield came to the Red Sox as a reclamation project. Nearly two decades later, he departs as one of the most successful pitchers and respected individuals in team history.
The venerable knuckleballer formally announced his retirement during a 5 p.m. ET news conference Friday at JetBlue Park, Boston's new Spring Training facility.
"Tim Wakefield has been the epitome of class and determination in his remarkable career," said principal owner John Henry. "He will be known as much for his character, dedication and perseverance as he will be for his knuckleball, his victories, and his key contributions to two World Series championship seasons."
Wakefield had hoped to extend his career for another season, and said that he badly wanted it to be with the Red Sox.
However, the team didn't have a defined role for Wakefield, and the club wasn't comfortable with a player of Wakefield's stature coming to camp and competing for a job.
It turns out that Wakefield's 200th career victory, accomplished Sept. 13 at Fenway Park, was the last of his career.
"His career here has been pretty legendary," said Red Sox right-hander Daniel Bard. "I think you look at the career records, he's up there in everything. I won't remember him for that so much as for the teammate and friend he became after playing three years with him."
Over 19 seasons in the Majors, the 45-year-old Wakefield went 200-180 with a 4.41 ERA. Wakefield pitched all but two of those seasons for the Red Sox, the team that signed him in 1995 after his release from the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Wakefield made the low-risk signing look like a smart one right from the outset, winning 14 of his first 15 decisions during that 1995 season and playing a leading role as the Red Sox won the American League East.
"Tim Wakefield has an exceptional place in Red Sox history and lore," said Red Sox chairman Tom Werner. "He has made more starts and pitched more innings than any other pitcher in our history. What's more, his sense of sacrifice and his team-first attitude were pivotal in our stunning comeback to win the 2004 pennant and the historic World Series championships that followed.
"Yet, when it comes to Tim Wakefield, we will remember with equal regard his extraordinary devotion to the Franciscan Hospital for Children in Boston, the Space Coast Early Intervention Center in his hometown of Melbourne, Fla., and his tireless fundraising for Pitching In For Kids, the Jimmy Fund, and the Red Sox Foundation. Those contributions, which earned him Major League Baseball's Roberto Clemente Award in 2010, mean as much to us as his many memorable moments in our joyous championship seasons."
With 186 wins in a Boston uniform, Wakefield retires trailing only two pitchers in team history, Cy Young and Roger Clemens, who both recorded 192 victories for the Sox.
Surpassing Young and Clemens is about the only goal Wakefield didn't reach during his time in Boston.
"I know he would have liked to have accomplished that," said Red Sox catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia, "but this is a game where you set your goals, and he wanted to be the best at what he did. He put a lot into this game, and I know it would have meant a lot in that aspect. But I think looking 10 years down the road, he's going to look back and realize he walked away the right way. He didn't have to go back to win 193 to realize who he is. He knows who he is. He doesn't have to accomplish anything else to be happy with himself."
Aside from becoming a dependable and durable pitcher for the Red Sox under five managers, Wakefield also became one of the team leaders in the community. In 2010, Wakefield won baseball's Roberto Clemente Award, given to the player who best exemplifies a combination of on- and off-field excellence.
"Good guy -- unbelievable in the community," said Bard. "He cares about other people and never forgets to give back, and I'm sure he'll keep up with that stuff."
Wakefield was drafted by the Pirates as a first baseman in 1988, but struggled at the plate in his early days as a pro. He used to throw a knuckleball on the side just for fun. His manager at the time, Woody Huyke, suggested Wakefield convert to a knuckleballer.
By 1992, Wakefield got a chance to display just how well that switch in roles went, as he went 8-1 with a 2.15 ERA for the Pirates and went 2-0 against the Braves in that year's National League Championship Series.
But it was in Boston where Wakefield was able to have sustained success.
"For 17 years, Tim Wakefield has been the Red Sox rock of consistency," said president/CEO Larry Lucchino. "Reliable, available, and versatile, his contributions to this franchise are innumerable. Each of us can name a 'Wakefield Moment' that touches our heart. He is as much a part of our storied history as any player who has worn the Red Sox uniform. We thank him and salute him."
The low point of Wakefield's career occurred in Game 7 of the 2003 AL Championship Series, when he gave up a walk-off homer to Aaron Boone in the 11th inning that sent the Yankees to the World Series.
Wakefield feared at the time that he was going to be looked at as a goat in Red Sox lore, along the lines of Bill Buckner. However, it became clear that wouldn't be the case when, three months later, he received a rousing standing ovation at the Boston Baseball Writers' Dinner.
In 2004, Wakefield helped the Red Sox win their first World Series in 86 years. During the epic Game 5 of the ALCS against the Yankees, Wakefield fired three shutout innings in relief to get the win in a 14-inning game that helped Boston become the first team in history to overcome a 3-0 series deficit.
Three years later, when the Red Sox won another World Series, Wakefield was a 17-game winner.
"Congrats to Tim Wakefield on a great career!" tweeted Red Sox center fielder Jacoby Ellsbury. "It was a privilege being your teammate."
Wakefield became an All-Star for the first time in 2009.
The past two seasons, Wakefield bounced between the bullpen and the rotation.
"I was just glad and fortunate that I was able to play with a professional like him. It kind of feels right," said Saltalamacchia. "He had plenty left in him. I think he definitely could've played a couple more years, but he's at the time of his life, I think, where family's important, [his] kids are getting older, and he's accomplished everything anyone could want to accomplish in this game. It seems right after 200 wins, getting that, to kind of be with the family right now."
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