David Ortiz’s 15th annual Celebrity Golf Classic is always a Red Sox family affair.
The three-day social and golf outing happening this weekend on Marco Island, FL, is always attended by some combination of Ortiz’s former teammates. Johnny Damon, Clay Buccholz, Brock Holt, and John Lackey are expected to be among countless famous faces this year. Manny famously swung and missed at the event in 2014. Pedro Martinez has attended numerous times.
Sadly, the former teammate who always showed up for Ortiz’s event will be noticeably absent.
It’s been two months since Tim Wakefield passed away suddenly on October 1, the final day of the Red Sox season. His teammates, colleagues, fans, and loved ones were stunned. His battle with cancer had only been made public days prior, against his wishes.
“That was very devastating to me. Having someone like my man passing away, there’s no way to describe it,” Ortiz told the Herald on Friday. “He was like a big brother to me, you know? He was a person that cared about me, helped me out with so many things, in so many different ways. I mean, who didn’t love that guy? Who wasn’t friends with that guy?”
The Red Sox signed Wakefield in April ‘95, so he was already a veteran in the clubhouse by the time Ortiz arrived at spring training in ‘03. On the surface, the knuckleball pitcher from Florida and the slugger from the Dominican Republic couldn’t have been more different, but they had two key things in common: they’d each been released by their first franchise and given a second chance in Boston, and they both really cared about making a difference.
“He was always a leader,” Ortiz said. “I remember when I first got to the Red Sox, he basically was the guy who runs the clubhouse, and all I wanted to do was just follow his (foot)steps.”
He ended up doing exactly that. Wakefield was a devoted philanthropist. Eight times, the Red Sox nominated him for the prestigious Roberto Clemente Award, given each year to the Major Leaguer who “best exemplifies the game of baseball, sportsmanship, community involvement, and the individual’s contribution to his team.” He received the award in 2010. The following year, it went to Ortiz.
Wakefield’s charitable endeavors influenced his teammates, and he championed their causes as well as his own. “I don’t remember him missing this event,” Ortiz reminisced. “He was one of the major supporters of this event throughout the years, him and his wife, Stacy.
“That family cares about so many things. If you look around, everything that they have done is on another type of level. They care about people. They don’t care where you come from. They were always open and wanting to help, and that goes a long way.”
It helped that Wakefield loved to golf. Out of all the former Red Sox, he and Jim Rice were the two best golfers in the bunch, Ortiz said. “I used to see some conversations between the two… they’d go back and forth talking trash to each other. It’s a family thing,” he said with a smile.
The worst golfer in the franchise? “Well, besides me,” the Hall of Famer chuckled, “I don’t want to pick anyone without knowing his handicap.”
This weekend, Ortiz hopes the events of “Weekend with Papi” and silent auction will raise $1.4 million for his David Ortiz Children’s Fund, which provides life-saving pediatric cardiac surgeries and care in his native Dominican Republic and chosen home, New England. The goal amount would cover care for 280 children.
They planned a dedication for Wakefield on Friday evening. His support over the years saved 50 children’s lives, Ortiz revealed.
“Tim cared about everybody. He cared about everybody.”