Jeremy Swayman and Tim Wakefield didn’t play the same sport and were born more than 30 years apart. Yet, the latter has made a tremendous impact on the former’s career.
There’s certainly not much the former knuckleballer could have told Swayman to improve his play between the pipes. However, in their one meeting, the legendary Red Sox pitcher left a lasting impact on the Bruins’ star goalie.
When Wakefield died in October 2023, Swayman made a point to start a meeting with reporters shortly thereafter by speaking about the impact Wakefield made on him and the Boston community. Swayman elaborated on that impact Wednesday when he dropped by the WEEI/NESN Jimmy Fund Radio Telethon.
“I got to meet Wake one time, and the impact that one conversation had on me will stick with me for the rest of my life,” Swayman told NESN’s Adam Pellerin and The Boston Globe’s Alex Speier. “I got to learn about his involvement with the Jimmy Fund and his involvement with the community. That’s something, I’ve looked at different athletes in different communities and how they’ve represented it, but I don’t think there’s many more that have done a better job than Wake. It’s my job, my teammates’ jobs, it’s everyone’s job in this community to do it how Wake did it.”
Swayman, like many others, also expressed his regret that Wakefield isn’t here still to learn from. However, the Bruins goalie believes he can carry on the former pitcher’s legacy by putting the lessons he learned from him to good use.
“I’m gonna make sure I’m honoring him and how I treat my teammates, with how I treat the community, with how everyone around me, and that’s something I’ll always cherish, that conversation with him,” Swayman said.
To this point in his career, Swayman has certainly lived up to his end of the deal. He’s quickly becoming a regular at the annual telethon. Few pro athletes in Boston are as giving with their time as he is, and he has been able to make an impact on many people in a relatively short time.
Wakefield undoubtedly would be proud of those efforts.
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