Six hours before the first of nineteen meetings between the Red Sox and Yankees, Doug Mirabelli was in California as a member of the San Diego Padres. The Red Sox acquired (or is it re-acquired?) Mirabelli Monday morning. They had a private plane fly him from San Diego to Boston. He arrived at Logan Airport at 6:48 pm. The first pitch was scheduled for 7:09 pm.
The good citizens of Massachusetts put their tax dollars to work for the Red Sox and Mirabelli climbed into a state police cruiser, which was waiting for him. He made it from the airport to Fenway Park in 12 minutes. For anyone who has ever been to Boston, you can make from the airport to Fenway Park in 25 minutes on a Sunday at 3:00 am. While traveling at somewhere just under the speed of sound, Mirabelli changed into his uniform in the back seat of the state police car.
Barely having time to say hello to his teammates, Mirabelli put on his gear and took the field for the first pitch (delayed 4 minutes because of Mirabelli’s late arrival). The crowd erupted as if the team had just announced a 2 for 1 beer night. Why such a fuss over a backup catcher with a career batting average of .230?
Mirabelli is not your average backup catcher. Before being traded to San Diego over the winter, he spent the previous 4 ½ seasons as Tim Wakefield’s personal catcher. Wakefield is the definition of an enigma. He has averaged 188 innings over the past 11 years with the Red Sox. He has the third most wins in Red Sox history behind only Roger Clemens and Cy Young. He accomplished all this throwing primarily one pitch: a knuckleball. (He has a fastball which tops out at 77 MPH on a good day).
Trying to catch a knuckleball is like trying to catch a wiffle ball with a flat wooden paddle on your opposite hand. Any professional catcher will back this up. Jason Varitek won a Gold Glove last year and he once had 3 passed balls in one inning of catching Wakefield during a playoff game. Amazingly, no one scored. Mike McFarlane, who was known for his superlative defense, had over 15 passed balls (a career high) the season he caught Wakefield. Before Mirabelli’s return, Josh Bard had 10 passed balls in Wakefield’s five starts. Project those stats over 30-35 starts and you shatter any record for most passed balls in a season.
Compare this to Mirabelli: He had 6 passed balls all last season catching Wakefield.
While people may see his story as another example of the craziness of Red Sox Nation, no other team has Tim Wakefield and no other team has a knuckleballer.
The difference in Wakefield was instantly noticeable. He threw his best, hardest breaking knuckleball with runners on base without any fear. He threw the fewest number of fastballs in any game this season. When he walked Alex Rodriguez on 4 pitches to load the bases with no one out, Mirabelli went to the mound to talk to Wakefield. You could see the chemistry.
In his post-game interview with ESPN, Mirabelli could not stop smiling. The whole day was surreal to him: News of the trade to his old team, a whirlwind cross country jet ride that concluded with the plane skidding on the tarmac, the escort to the ballpark, the reception by the crowd and a 7-3 Red Sox win. It was like watching a band that reunites after one member quits because he girlfriend convinces him he would be better on his own. When that guy returns to the band, he knows it is where he belonged all along. That was the look Mirabelli had during his interview. He was where he belonged.
Doug Mirabelli is the ultimate specialist. He is the master of a rare art form. For that, he gets $1.5 million dollars, catches a pitcher who throws a knuckleball once every 5 days and receives a hero’s welcome, as he should.
While most baseball fans have probably never heard of Doug Mirabelli, he will play a huge role in the outcome of the Red Sox season.
