The Closer: Wakefield Will Be Missed February 17, 2012, 11:59 pm Tim Wakefield's stock rose and fell far faster than any financial index during his 19 seasons in the major leagues. How else can you explain a player who was washed up at 26 and yet was still winning games when he was 44? A knuckleballer in the age of fastballs and sliders, Wakefield was a starter, a middle reliever and a closer. In an era of tightly controlled pitch counts, he was immune, throwing 140 or more pitches six different times, once throwing 172. Wakefield, who retired Friday, got the most attention in 1992, when he came out of nowhere to help lead the Pirates to the playoffs. He had his best season in 1995, his first as a starter for the Red Sox. But the season that most encapsulates his long, strange career was 2002. In that season, Wakefield started 15 games and relieved in 30. He posted a microscopic WHIP (1.053) and had an adjusted earned run average 63 percent better than the league average. He ran up 163 1/3 innings, which tied him for fourth most on the team. From July 31 to the end of the season, Wakefield stepped into the rotation and performed brilliantly. In 11 starts he went 7-2 with a 2.01 E.R.A. The Red Sox ultimately missed the playoffs that season, but the man with the dancing knuckleball had done all he could to help. There have been plenty of pitchers better than Wakefield, but there have been few who were as unique.