He was on the Boston Red Sox team that broke the "Curse of the Bambino." He was an integral part of their World Series championship year in 2007. The late knuckleballer Tim Wakefield saw incredible success, but it was a trip visiting wounded veterans at Walter Reed Army Medical Center after the 2007 victory that really showed us all who he was. In an interview before his passing in October 2023, Wakefield opened up about his passion for Home Base, the National Center for Excellence based in Charlestown, Massachusetts, that’s leading the way for veteran brain care and mental health. "Being a Red Sox player and a baseball player for 19 years, I knew what camaraderie meant. I knew what a team meant. When I retired, I kind of missed that,” Wakefield said. “These veterans are part of a team, part of a unit, part of a family. When they come home, there's not a team anymore. That's hard to deal with." WCVB is partnering with the Home Base Program ahead of Veterans Day to raise money to help heal the invisible wounds of war. Click here to donate.The Red Sox worked with Massachusetts General Hospital, the Department of Defense, Veterans' Association and others to help establish Home Base in 2009."I think Home Base has done a really great job reconnecting these veterans that are going through the emotional or psychological stuff when they get home," he said. "They don't have a purpose when they get home; now we're trying to create them to have a life purpose."Jack Hammond is a retired U.S. Army brigadier general and the executive director of Home Base. Wakefield’s death from a brain tumor was so personal for Hammond and the whole organization.“ threw us all through a loop, I mean, I had texted him in late August, and there was no indication anything was going on,” Hammond said. “I didn't believe he had been diagnosed yet." Wakefield was Home Base’s honorary chairman.“He was kind of the heart of our whole fitness program,” Hammond said. “We built an entire fitness program on just bringing back veterans together for workouts so they could reconnect.” Bekah Salwasser is the executive director of the Red Sox Foundation and an executive vice president of the Red Sox. She had a front-row seat to Wakefield's passion for Home Base."The Run to Home Base this year was such a perfect example of who Tim was,” Bekah said. “He was one of the first people there before the race even started at six in the morning to ensure that his presence was felt and that he could leverage his celebrity and his legacy to encourage and thank and just be present for all of the veterans for their families and active duty members that were there that day."Wakefield was so moved by Home Base and what they do, that he helped establish Home Base’s presence in Florida, his home state. It’s a mission he made clear before his death. “I think this is a program that needs to be in every single state,” Wakefield said. “It really does save lives.”
He was on the Boston Red Sox team that broke the "Curse of the Bambino." He was an integral part of their World Series championship year in 2007.
The late knuckleballer Tim Wakefield saw incredible success, but it was a trip visiting wounded veterans at Walter Reed Army Medical Center after the 2007 victory that really showed us all who he was.
In an interview before his passing in October 2023, Wakefield opened up about his passion for Home Base, the National Center for Excellence based in Charlestown, Massachusetts, that’s leading the way for veteran brain care and mental health.
"Being a Red Sox player and a baseball player for 19 years, I knew what camaraderie meant. I knew what a team meant. When I retired, I kind of missed that,” Wakefield said. “These veterans are part of a team, part of a unit, part of a family. When they come home, there's not a team anymore. That's hard to deal with."
WCVB is partnering with the Home Base Program ahead of Veterans Day to raise money to help heal the invisible wounds of war. Click here to donate.
The Red Sox worked with Massachusetts General Hospital, the Department of Defense, Veterans' Association and others to help establish Home Base in 2009.
"I think Home Base has done a really great job reconnecting these veterans that are going through the emotional or psychological stuff when they get home," he said. "They don't have a purpose when they get home; now we're trying to create them to have a life purpose."
Jack Hammond is a retired U.S. Army brigadier general and the executive director of Home Base. Wakefield’s death from a brain tumor was so personal for Hammond and the whole organization.
“[His loss] threw us all through a loop, I mean, I had texted him in late August, and there was no indication anything was going on,” Hammond said. “I didn't believe he had been diagnosed yet."
Wakefield was Home Base’s honorary chairman.
“He was kind of the heart of our whole fitness program,” Hammond said. “We built an entire fitness program on just bringing back veterans together for workouts so they could reconnect.”
Bekah Salwasser is the executive director of the Red Sox Foundation and an executive vice president of the Red Sox. She had a front-row seat to Wakefield's passion for Home Base.
"The Run to Home Base this year was such a perfect example of who Tim was,” Bekah said. “He was one of the first people there before the race even started at six in the morning to ensure that his presence was felt and that he could leverage his celebrity and his legacy to encourage and thank and just be present for all of the veterans for their families and active duty members that were there that day."
Wakefield was so moved by Home Base and what they do, that he helped establish Home Base’s presence in Florida, his home state.
It’s a mission he made clear before his death.
“I think this is a program that needs to be in every single state,” Wakefield said. “It really does save lives.”
"Idea" - Google News
November 10, 2023 at 06:36PM
https://ift.tt/cWAltrM
Red Sox Tim Wakefield’s Legacy: How an idea led to the founding of Home Base - WCVB Boston
"Idea" - Google News
https://ift.tt/cqBbreT
https://ift.tt/2OdomSY
Bagikan Berita Ini
0 Response to "Red Sox Tim Wakefield’s Legacy: How an idea led to the founding of Home Base - WCVB Boston"
Post a Comment