Reviews & News
The Boston Globe excerpts Knuckler.
The Boston Phoenix sits down with Tim Wakefield to talk about Knuckler:
“It was pretty awesome, being able to recall and sitting down with Tony [Massarotti], doing interviews and talking about years past. It was a lot of fun. Some of the memories I’d stored away for so many years. When you’re still involved in the game — I tell people, “I’m still in survival mode every day” — you don’t get a chance to reflect on your career until it’s over with. And I’ve been very fortunate, during the process of writing this book, to recall some of those great memories of the last seventeen years.”
“The result is an incredibly intelligent, self-aware glimpse inside an admirable career. The preseason pick for best baseball book of the season.” — Booklist, starred review
“Boston has clearly reaped tremendous dividends on this low-risk investment, and Knuckler chronicles the tremendous highs (two World Series rings) and lows (the homer allowed to Aaron Boone that ended the 2003 ALCS, the indignity of middle relief, multiple injuries) of Wakefield’s still ongoing Red Sox odyssey. It’s an unlikely story all the way through, but, then again, would one expect anything less from an individual who has devoted his life to that most mercurial of pitches?” — Benjamin Hill, MiLB.com
“Knuckler is a terrific book about one of baseball’s most underrated pitchers, not to mention baseball’s most misunderstood pitch. There are wonderful stories and anecdotes here, but it’s also a portrait of a humble, caring man who has carved out a special niche for himself. If you love baseball (not just Red Sox baseball), Knuckler is for you. If you don’t care a hang about baseball, but like stories about exceptionally talented people behaving decently, Knuckler is also for you. And if you’re sick to death of sports stories about athletes behaving badly, Tim Wakefield’s book is the perfect antidote.” — Stephen King
“I have always admired Tim Wakefield, as he plays baseball with a great deal of integrity, the way the game should be played. Knuckler gives readers a rare glimpse at the man behind the baseball and his remarkable work on and off the field.” — Carlton Fisk, Hall of Fame catcher
“To read Knuckler is to appreciate that there is no gimmick, no fluke, no chance to Tim Wakefield approaching 200 wins and 20 major league seasons. This book is about resiliency, diligence and the tunnel vision required to live by what appears to be the most fanciful pitch thrown by man.” — Peter Gammons, MLB baseball analyst and member of the National Sportswriters and Sportscasters Hall of Fame
“Tim Wakefield’s Knuckler is a fastball right down the middle of the plate. It is an honest, straightforward and very enjoyable account of the national pastime. I have an enormous amount of respect for Tim, and I applaud the many wonderful good deeds he and his wife have done to help those in need in the communities in which they live.” — Allan H. (Bud) Selig, Commissioner of Baseball
“Competent and entertaining, Wakefield’s book is one to savor, especially for the stat-obsessed baseball fan and the novice pitcher in search of a knuckleball to call his own.” — Publishers Weekly
“Provides valuable insights on perseverance, professionalism, and the ability to forget the last pitch.” — Library Journal
