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Major League Baseball has had its share of legends who played deep into their careers. Some of the most recent to finally hang up their spikes and walk away from the game include Ken Griffey Jr., Trevor Hoffman, and, barring an unexpected comeback, Andy Pettitte.

Each of the aforementioned players stuck around for a long time and were able to leave a lasting impression on the game we all love.

Over the last couple of seasons, team executives have turned their focus to building winning programs with young, athletic, and less-expensive players while the elder generation nears a mass exedos via retirement.

Many of our favorite players will soon be leaving the field and this wave of retirees could certainly see the 2011 campaign as one last “hoorah.” Let’s take a quick look at ten impact players who will retire following the upcoming season.

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Voted on by baseball fans and members of the media, the Roberto Clemente Award has been given annually since 1971 to the Major League Baseball (MLB) player who “best exemplifies the game of baseball, sportsmanship, community involvement and the individuals contribution to his team”. 

Named after 12-time All-Star and Hall of Fame outfielder Roberto Clemente in 1973, the award was named after Clemente died on New Year’s Eve 1972 while trying to deliver supplies to victims of the Nicaragua earthquake.

Each year, a panel of baseball dignitaries selects one player from 30 nominees, one from each team. Some of the past receipts of this award were such baseball greats as Mays, Carew, Ozzie Smith, Kirby Puckett, Albert Pujois and Derek Jeter.

This marked the eighth time Wakefield was nominated by the Red Sox, but the first time he’s actually won.

The 44-year-old righty was recognized for his selfless actions on Thursday, accepting the award at a news conference at AT&T Park in San Francisco prior to Game 2 of the World Series between the Giants and the Texas Rangers. 

When you think of Tim Wakefield, you think of two things: his dependability and his famous knuckle-ball that’s kept him in the majors all these years.  

Wakefield broke into the majors in 1992 with the Pittsburgh Pirates (ironically the team Clemente played his entire career with). He has been with the Red Sox since 1995.

Wakefield has helped those in need in both Boston and his home of Melborne, Florida. Since 2004, the knuckle-baller has been affiliated with Pitching in for Kids, a non-profit organization dedicated to providing specifically earmarked grants designed to improve the lives of children across the New England region. The program encourages kids to participate in special events and to learn crucial life skills. 

Every year, Wakefield is among or near the top of the list in community appearances by Red Sox players. Before every Tuesday home game, he runs the Wakefield Warriors program, in which he invites children from the Franciscan Hospital and the Jimmy Fund to visit with him and watch batting practice.

Wakefield and Pitching in For Kids has helped Franciscan Hospital raise more than $900,000. Wakefield participates in the Jimmy Fund Radio Telethon, which last year raised $4.5 million.

Wakefield is a 193-game winner in the Majors—179 of those wins coming for the Red Sox. He made the All-Star Game for the first time in 2009 and is the longest-tenured member of the Red Sox. Only Cy Young and Roger Clemens have won more games in a Red Sox uniform than Tim Wakefield.

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Watching Tim Wakefield pitch last night in Oakland, I couldn’t help but think it might have been his final start with the Red Sox; not just this season, but ever.

With Clay Buchholz and Josh Beckett returning to the rotation today and Friday, respectively, Wakefield will be the odd man out.

Though Wakefield was unhappy with his move to the bullpen earlier this season, given the way he’s pitched this year, he can’t rightly complain. The 43-year-old pitcher is just 3-8 in 16 starts this season, with a 5.58 ERA and a 1.34 WHIP. 

Considering Wakefield’s age (he’ll be 44 next month) and poor performance this year, it’s entirely possible — if not likely — the Sox will decline to bring him back next season. If that is the case, Wakefield has had a fascinating and overachieving career.

After being released by the Pirates on April 20, 1995, Wakefield was signed by the Red Sox six days later. The knuckle-baller has been with the Sox ever since, becoming the team’s longest-tenured player in the process. That longevity has advanced Wakefield in the Sox’ record book.

Wakefield is the Red Sox career leader in starts and innings pitched, and he is second to Roger Clemens in strikeouts. 

However, Wakefield is also the Red Sox career leader in many less desirable categories, such as hits allowed, runs, earned runs, walks, and hit batsman. And in each of those categories, Wakefield leads by a long shot.

Trailing Clemens by only 70 Ks, it is possible that Wakefield could overtake the former Red Sox star next season.

More importantly to Wakefield, his 178 Red Sox victories put him just 14 behind Clemens and the legendary Cy Young. It was Wakefield’s intention to surpass the two most famous Red Sox hurlers by the end of next season.

But with just three wins in 16 starts this year, that is looking increasingly less likely. As much as the Red Sox might like to see Wakefield reach the strikeouts and wins milestones, they don’t want to see him hanging on just to do so. 

After pitching 108 innings this season — third most on the team — Wakefield has certainly had his chances. No one can reasonably argue otherwise.

If Wakefield were to have gotten within striking distance of the two records this season, bringing him back next year would be a no-brainer. Loyalty aside, the PR and marketing opportunities alone would make it worth the Red Sox’ while.

But with Wakefield pitching poorly and now headed back to the pen, his chances of surpassing Clemens and Young seem doubtful. And as much of a good soldier as Wakefield has been — a true leader both on and off the field — the Sox won’t bring him back if they don’t think he can give them a chance to win consistently.

Wakefield’s knuckleball hasn’t just frustrated opposing hitters; it’s also frustrated a host of Red Sox catchers and managers. While Wakefield can often confuse and confound hitters, when he gets hit, he often gets hit hard. In addition, costly passed balls and wild pitches are to be expected.

Because Wakefield’s primary pitch is so unpredictable, his starts are equally unpredictable. Each time he takes the mound, the results seem to be to a roll of the dice. Consistency has never been Wakefield’s strong suit.

With all of this in mind, it’s conceivable that we have finally seen the last start in Tim Wakefield’s enduring career.

If it was indeed Wakefield’s final start, it’s quite fitting that it was such a mixed bag, which has defined his career.

Staked to a 4-0 lead in the second inning, Wakefield couldn’t hold on, surrendering four runs in the bottom of the third. Wakefield loaded the bases on a double, a walk, and a hit batter. The runs then scored on a double, a passed ball, and a sacrifice fly.

All of it was par for the course during a typical Wakefield outing.

But, as is also customary for Tim Wakefield, he then shut down Oakland over the next three innings, allowing no further runs. The mixed performance was vintage Wakefield.

If it was indeed his final start, all we can say is, Thanks for the memories, Tim. Thanks for all the effort. Thanks for being a man of such great character and integrity.

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Giacomo Casanova once said, “By recollecting the pleasures I have had formerly, I renew them, I enjoy them a second time, while I laugh at the remembrance of troubles now past, and which I no longer feel.” We could say that about quite a few players on the Red Sox roster, and the Red Sox franchise itself. It’s funny how you can use a quote by a ladies man and use it for baseball, isn’t it?

The Boston Red Sox defeated the Baltimore Orioles, 3-2, on Friday, thanks to a few guys. Two of these players include Kevin Cash, who was acquired by the BoSox this past Thursday from the Houston Astros in a swap for Angel Sanchez, and the guy who hit a grand slam in his first at-bat not three weeks ago in Daniel Nava.

With both Jason Varitek and Victor Martinez on the DL, the Red Sox were in need of a catcher. With no one else worthy of catching, Theo Epstein decided to take some action and acquire someone who has caught with the Red Sox (and Wakefield) before.

Wakefield took the mound in Fenway Park for the 201st time, passing Roger Clemens for the most lifetime starts in the chapel. Looking at Tim Wakefield’s stats before the game, one would tell you that he isn’t doing as well as Boston fans would like him to be pitching. A 2-6 record with a 5.21 ERA isn’t exactly something to brag about.

Facing him off would be a young maligned pitcher in Brad Bergesen, who needed to prove that he was actually Major League material for Baltimore. Before the game, he was 3-4 with a 6.83 ERA.

It was very evenly matched until the eighth inning which was when endurance was the vital factor to winning the game for both starters. In the end, Wakefield was the better pitcher, as he threw a total of 96 pitches (66 of them being strikes) and surrendering only two runs in eight innings of work.

“I felt fresh even after eight innings,” Wakefield said. “I was ready to go the ninth, and maybe even the 10th if necessary.”

Although Bergesen surrendered one more run than the knuckleballer, he did silence his critics that day, striking out a career-high seven batters in 7 2/3 innings, and allowing just five hits with no walks.

It’s been about two years since Cash was behind the plate catching for Wakefield on the mound. He told the press that he barely called for anything else besides the knuckleball.

“I think he threw two breaking balls and fastballs, everything else was a knuckleball,” Cash said. “Every time I have caught him, Wake gets ahead of the hitter.”

Cash made quite an impact of his own, gunning Adam Jones at second base in the second inning. Offensively, he batted ninth in the lineup and went 0-for-3 with two ground outs and a fly out.

Later on in the game, J.D. Drew showed off his power, hitting two solo jacks in his first two at-bats. It was the 17th multi-homer game of his career, and were the only runs scored until the bottom of the eighth inning.

With the game tied at 2, Boston needed to find out how to get on base against Bergesen before heading to the ninth. That’s exactly what Marco Scutaro did. With two outs, he kept the inning alive by hitting a double to left field. After that one hit, Juan Samuel decided to pull Bergesen out and give the ball to Will Ohman.

Due up to bat against him was Eric Patterson. However, manager Terry Francona decided to make his own move and substitute him with rookie Daniel Nava. Ahead in the count, 2-1, Nava took an inside pitch to the opposite field. The ball dropped just beyond the reach of Nick Markakis, Julio Lugo, and Ty Wigginton, and Marco Scutaro scored from second to give the Red Sox a 3-2 lead, and eventually the game.

“I was just looking for anything to drive and put the ball in play hard, which is funny because that isn’t what I did,” Nava said. “But it worked and I am sure we will take it.”

Wakefield’s first victory at Fenway this season was also his first home win in nearly a year; his last home win was on July 8 against the Oakland Athletics. After 200 starts at the chapel and having sole possession of the record he once shared with Clemens, the victory couldn’t have been more special… not to mention that the park is closing in on its 100th anniversary.

Somehow… some way… the Red Sox still find ways to win. With the latest two victims of injuries in Jason Varitek and Manny Delcarmen now on the disabled list, the total number of players on Boston’s DL has been increased to nine. The list includes Dustin Pedroia, Josh Beckett, Mike Lowell, Jacoby Ellsbury, and Jeremy Hermida.

“You look at our lineup and you know with the injuries, it isn’t how we thought it would be, but as you can see, others guys like J.D. Drew had two huge knocks,” Nava said. “I don’t think anyone is going up there think they have to carry the team.”

With their latest victory, they are now only 1/2 a game behind the New York Yankees for first place in the AL East, and the best record in baseball. How long can the Red Sox keep this streak going? We’ll find out…

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Red Sox pitching, of course, refers to just two men:

Daisuke Matsuzaka and Tim Wakefield.

Remember how both those guys dominated the Phillies at Citizens Bank Park three weeks ago over a span of 18 hours?

Well, both righthanders will be out to repeat their wizardry of the Phillies this weekend, while the Phillies will be given a shot at redemption, a chance for revenge.

Daisuke pitches this Saturday against Joe Blanton (4 p.m., FOX), Wakefield will be opposed by Cole Hamels on Sunday (1:30 p.m., TBS).

Dice-K and Wake Did it Once…

If the Phillies were actually capable of beating the Red Sox in a three-game series since the days of Veterans Stadium astroturf, then their meeting in Philly last month was the absolute perfect time.

Everything was lined up just right from for them, especially when considering the pitching matchups.

The Phils wouldn’t be facing Boston’s two best starters (Jon Lester and Clay Buccholz) while the Sox would be facing the Phillies’ two best (Roy Halladay and Hamels).

After Hamels dazzled the Sox lineup and the Phillies made Boston’s John Lackey sweat out 107 pitches in five innings for an eventual 5-1 win in the Friday night series opener, Philadelphia seemed poised to take the series.

After all, Boston’s starting pitchers in Games Two and Three, Matsuzaka and Wakefield, entered the weekend with a combined two wins in 10 starts and a 6.21 ERA during 2010.

Teams were teeing off against these guys all season, but the Phillies wound up barely settling for singles. Dice-K and Wake combined to shut out the Phils on six hits in 16 total innings.

The Phillies offensive woes actually began before Boston even came to town, three days earlier on May 18 when Pittsburgh’s highly ineffective Zach Duke beat them, 2-1. But Dice-K’s dominance on May 22 marked the first of 12 straight games that the Phillies failed to generate more than three runs.

Can They Do it Again?

No. It’s unrealistic to expect the Phillies to be shut out by both pitchers…again.

Why?

Dice-K and Wake aren’t that good…then again neither is the Phillies offense right now.

These two guys haven’t exactly been the American League equivalents of Ubaldo Jimenez and Josh Johnson so far in 2010.

Still, Matsuzaka has pitched well since one-hitting the Phils. He’s 2-1 with a 2.79 ERA in his last three starts, highlighted by eight shutout innings against the lowly Indians in his most recent start.

Of course, Dice-K has the propensity to be very wild. On May 27, against Kansas City, Matsuzaka threw 112 pitched and walked EIGHT in just 4.2 innings. The Phillies, who have slipped to 10th in the NL in total walks, will need to be patient.

Wakefield is 1-2 with an 8.47 ERA in his three starts since facing the Phils. He suffered through two horrific outings against the Royals and A’s before pitching 7.2 innings and allowing just one earned run in his last start in Cleveland.

Over the last month, Philly has had a knack for making ordinary pitchers look like Cy Youngs. But surely the Phils will do much better in their second encounter with these guys. They have to, right?

Then again, considering how the Phils offense has looked since the last time they faced the guys from Beantown, maybe we shouldn’t be expecting too much.

Oh, by the way, the Phillies are 5-16 against Boston since 2004, so some long-awaited payback is very much overdue.

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Caption: In a scene that has become all-too-familiar during Red Sox games, a Red Sox starter hands the baseball to manager Terry Francona after getting bombed. Last night, it was Tim Wakefield’s turn to get pulled mid-inning, after surrendering a grand slam to shortstop Yunieski Betancourt that gave Kansas City a 9-5 lead. The Red Sox lost, 12-5.

Last night at Fenway Park, knuckleballer Tim Wakefield was as brutal as brutal gets. If anyone needed a reminder as to the reason manager Terry Francona decided he would be moved to the bullpen when Daisuke Matsuzaka returned to the rotation, it was Wakefield himself who provided that reminder with an utterly abysmal performance.

The problem is the knuckle ball is inconsistent. It cannot be depended upon. The pitcher doesn’t know where it is going, the catcher doesn’t know where it’s going, and the hitter doesn’t know where it’s going. Sometimes it dances…and at other times it doesn’t go anywhere.

And when you’re trying to climb over two rivals in the standings, you need something more consistent from your starting pitchers than to throw the ball and cross your fingers. (Yeah, I know, I know – that is exactly what we’ve been getting from Beckett and, now, from Matsuzaka. What’s a manager to do?)

Last night, Wakefield allowed nine runs on 12 hits and three walks in just 3.2 IP. It was the fourth time in seven starts this season that he allowed five or more runs in an outing… and that just won’t cut the mustard in the AL East.

Red Sox Nation may be fond of the right-hander, and he may not be happy about pitching out of the bullpen, but he has not shown he is capable of providing the ball club with anything resembling a consistent performance when he takes the ball. And given my choice of Beckett, Matsuzaka and our favorite knuckleballer going to the bullpen, I say it’s gotta be knucksie.

He was staked to leads of 3-0 and 5-2, but he was unable to get through the fourth inning, when he surrendered seven runs, including a grand slam to light-hitting shortstop Yunieski Betancourt with his last pitch. And this was against the KANSAS CITY ROYALS—a team, with last night’s output, is now slightly better than league-average in runs scored (having played one MORE game than league average)…This wasn’t the New York Yankees!

EVERY Royals hitter had at least one hit. EVERY Royals hitter scored at least one run.

Wakefield’s ERA now stands at 5.68 – which is slightly better than Ramon Ramirez’ mark of 5.85 (1 IP, 1 ER) and only slightly worse than Hideki Okajima’s 5.40 (.1 IP, 2 ER). The three were responsible for yielding all of the Royals tallies last night.

Of his performance, Wakefield said: “When I left the bullpen I thought I had really good stuff. I had good stuff in the first inning. I just wasn’t able to repeat that.”

Umm, no kidding! Unfortunately, the game of baseball is nine innings long, not one.

After a good first inning, his night got increasingly worse. He wriggled out of a bases-loaded jam in the second inning, surrendered a pair of runs in the third, and then got pasted in the fourth. And while the manager and coaching staff might say something trite like, “everyone has one of those days,” the fact of the matter is that Wakefield has now had four of those days in seven starts.

Tim, if you want to know the reasons you’ll be back in the bullpen when Beckett is ready to return to action, save last night’s game on your DVR and watch it… THAT will provide you all the answers you need.

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Kevin Youkilis reached base for the 27th straight game… he drew his 30th and 31st walks of the month.

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When you have a team with this much talent, you have to wonder why they are struggling to stay above the .500 mark (the Red Sox currently have a record of 18-17) and, frankly, the only thing I have been able to come up with is that there is a pervasive sense of entitlement and unhappiness within the Red Sox clubhouse.

We all know that veterans David Ortiz and Tim Wakefield are unhappy with their roles on the club…and it seems to me that their attitude may be rubbing off on some of their teammates. Maybe their complaining and the underlying sense of entitlement they have exhibited have rubbed off on Adrian Beltre.

Scott Boras, Beltre’s agent, did him no favors this winter by telling the world his client was entitled to a big-money, multi-year deal in free agency. The third baseman eventually accepted an offer from the Red Sox that, essentially, is a one-year deal. It is not unimaginable Beltre was less-than-thrilled with the contract he (begrudgingly?) signed.

And then he arrived in Boston, only to hear a cacophony of grousing and belly-aching from the likes of Ortiz and Wakefield. And so it seems plausible he may have started to feeling a sense of entitlement of his own…and that he has become distracted.

How else do you explain the fact he has played third base (defensively) like a little leaguer —for the first time in his life?

I am tired of hearing about Tim Wakefield’s unhappiness with his role in the bullpen—something that greeted me AGAIN this morning in the wake of his solid outing yesterday. Hey, Tim, get over it!

The knuckleballer feels entitled to a spot in the rotation because he has been around for sixteen years and he was an All-Star last year. But he seems to forget the reasons the ballclub put him in the ‘pen in the first place…and consequently discounts the possibility (probability) the success he had yesterday may be directly related to the fact he doesn’t have to toe the rubber every five days. He forgets that after being an All-Star last July, he made only four starts in the second half and was 0-2, with a 6.00 ERA, in the second half…or the fact that he was 0-1, 5.40 after his first four outings this season.

And so he has ONE solid outing and starts whining again.

Much like Ortiz feels entitled to being the everyday DH despite last year’s .238 batting average and this year’s .200 average.

And so yesterday, a team with a $170+ million payroll took another step back toward’s the .500 mark with an underwhelming performance in a 3-2 loss to Toronto…and in the wake of yet another loss to yet another bad team, I am left to ask: why?

There is no arguing the fact that Wakefield pitched well yesterday. I just don’t wanna hear that one outing is proof he belongs in the rotation. He pitched seven innings, allowing three runs on five hits while issuing one walk. He struck out five batters. Manny Delcarmen and Scott Schoeneweis followed with two near-perfect innings of relief.

Wakefield pitched well enough to win, but Toronto starter Shaun Marcum was just a little bit better—with the help of home plate umpire Dale Scott, whose horrendous performance yesterday makes you wonder if he doesn’t socialize with an assortment of NBA referees.

Marcum pitched two-hit ball for seven shutout innings. He got all of the offensive support he would need from one guy—RF Travis Snider—who homered, doubled and drove in all three Blue Jays runs in the Toronto victory.

Blue Jays beat the Boston Red Sox 3-2 to salvage the finale of a three-game series.

Toronto manager Cito Gaston said: “Marcum’s pitched great. His record really doesn’t show the way he’s pitched. He’s pitched outstanding. We just haven’t been able to give him any runs a lot of the time. Even today, three runs, but he managed to hang on.”

He allowed just two singles—both to David Ortiz—struck out six and walked one. It’s the seventh time in eighth starts this year he’s given up three runs or fewer. He entered with a .232 opponents’ batting average, the second-lowest against an AL starter. With the win, he improved to 5-2 in his career against the Red Sox, 3-0 at Fenway Park.

Southpaw Scott Downs pitched a scoreless eighth and Kevin Gregg got three outs in the ninth for his 10th save, despite allowing J.D. Drew’s RBI double and Adrian Beltre’s run-scoring single.

Ahhhh, the ninth inning—that’s when home plate umpire Dale Scott seemed intent on ensuring the Blue Jays would prevail. With a runner on second base and one out, he called Ortiz out on strikes on a pitch that the Red Sox slugger appeared to think was outside. Three pitches later he made another questionable call on a pitch to Beltre, and declined to ask for help from the first base umpire in spite of a request from Beltre. When manager Terry Francona came out to argue he was tossed from the game.

Beltre got his revenge with an RBI single, but Scott had already punched out Ortiz…and who knows what might have happened if Papi had another swing or if the Red Sox had another out.

And so the Red Sox were addled with another loss, and Wakefield wondered aloud in the clubhouse whether he would get another start or return to the bullpen when Josh Beckett has recovered from a sore back.

Of course, we know the answer to that question; but, the fact that Wakefield feels sufficiently entitled to ask it aloud, in the clubhouse, in the aftermath of yet another loss may provide all of the explanation The Nation needs for why the team heads to Detroit as not-so-proud owners of an 18-17 record.

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Wakefield got his 2,000th strikeout when Vernon Wells fanned ending the fourth. He was saluted with a standing ovation as he walked off the field. He came back out from the dugout and tipped his cap to the Fenway Park crowd.

“I’m very proud of that,” he said. “It’s a tribute to longevity, and I feel very blessed to be able to wear this uniform for so long.”

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The Red Sox finished the homestand at 7-3…not bad considering the debacle in Baltimore the weekend before they arrived home.

That said, there were lots of empty seats at the ballpark. There is unrest in The Nation.

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With Daisuke returning to the Boston Red Sox’ starting rotation, Tim Wakefield was relegated to a long relief pitching role. He has experience in the bullpen, and had been the team’s fifth starter.

This move is very dangerous for two reasons.

First, it upsets Tim Wakefield, who was just 17 wins away from the club record in career wins. An upset Wakefield means lower overall team chemistry. To add, a disgruntled player is never one that a team wants to have in a locker room.

I think Wake will handle Terry Francona’s decision with grace, and his frustration will certainly not show, being the savvy veteran that he is. And he is definitely not happy.

Second, and more importantly, Wakefield is not the type of pitcher you want in the bullpen.

Wake’s primary pitch is a knuckleball, and if a hitter can make decent contact with a pitch, fly balls become very common. The more solid the contact, the deeper the ball will travel.

As a starter, home runs are less significant, because teams will have more opportunities to neutralize the run allowed. But as a bullpen pitcher, these bombs cause momentum swings and can really lower team morale.

For the full article, please visit New England Sports Online .

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Underrated. Players like Alex Rodriguez, Jason Heyward, and Stephen Strasburg have never really known that assignation.

Yet as highly touted as any one player may be, there are just as many, if not more, that prove better in the long run.

Just ask Dustin Pedroia and his five and a half foot frame.

Underrated is a fantasy baseball player’s dream.

Finding that diamond in the rough that others have discarded makes one’s draft.

It’s the same for real General Managers.

The joy of watching that first round pick fall apart while your supplemental pick flourishes.

Must be amazing.

In any case, I’ve taken it upon myself to rank the top 10 most underrated players in Major League Baseball.

Some are old, some are young.

All deserve more respect.

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