Former MLB player, philanthropist
He’s faced some of baseball’s best hitters in stadiums filled with thousands of fans (not necessarily his own), yet leaving the game he loves was the hardest thing Tim Wakefield ever had to do. In February, Tim announced his retirement from Major League Baseball after 19 seasons (17 with the Boston Red Sox). “This was a family decision,” says Tim. He and wife Stacy sat down with their children, Trevor and Brianna, and explained to them the pros and cons. “They wouldn’t be going to the ballpark all the time and the perks of being a professional athlete might go away, but they just looked at each other like who’s going to say it first? Dad we want you to stay home.” For the next year, Tim plans on doing nothing but play golf and be a husband and father. Playing baseball was “a great learning experience for my kids and I haven’t missed a lot of their growing up. I never wanted to regret missing out on their lives.”
