Our view: Happy times at Fenway

July 09, 2009 05:00 am

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There were two good stories out of Fenway Park recently that had little to do with the final score of the day's game.

The first was the selection of pitcher Tim Wakefield to this year's American League All-Star team. It was the first time the 17-year veteran knuckleballer was so honored.

Those whose pitching repertoire is based on the knuckleball don't tend to get a lot of respect in baseball. The knuckleball just isn't very impressive. It doesn't attract the attention that a 98-mph fastball thrown high and tight does.

Sometimes, the lack of respect is due to the fact that many knuckleballers aren't very good. If it's not thrown properly, the knuckleball is just a really slow pitch that hangs out over the plate about belt-high. They make really nice souvenirs for those sitting way out in the bleachers.

Wakefield is an exception, one of the best ever to focus on the pitch. And this year, 42-year-old Red Sox veteran is having an exceptional season.

Wakefield has long been a dependable workhorse for the Red Sox, doing anything his managers have asked of him. He has been the model of a team player. It's good to see him get this well-deserved honor.

The other great story was the warm welcome the Fenway faithful gave former Red Sox shortstop Nomar Garciaparra, now with the Oakland A's.

Garciaparra has been with a succession of National League teams since the Sox traded him midway through the 2004 season. This was his first trip back to Fenway.

Monday, fans greeted Garciaparra with a long standing ovation on his first trip to the plate. The ballplayer responded by tipping his helmet to the fans and touching his heart in a show of genuine emotion.

Garciaparra didn't leave Boston under the best of circumstances. But fans showed they appreciated the many great years he gave us. "Nomaaah" was such a Boston icon that fans' devotion was mocked in "Saturday Night Live" skits. His pattern of tics and twitches on approaching the plate — what a sportswriter here once called a "human rain-delay" — was imitated by a generation of Little Leaguers.

Nomar's welcome back was one of those moments that will live in Boston sports history.