Tim Wakefield is retiring from baseball and the Boston Red Sox. Wakefield has pitched 17 seasons for the Red Sox, helping the team to win two World Series titles during that time. The knuckleball pitcher began his career with the Pittsburgh Pirates, but certainly made his biggest impact in the game as a member of the Red Sox. Now the 45-year-old is walking away from the game with 186 career victories.

An official news conference is going to take place at 5 p.m. ET in the team's new spring training facility (JetBlue Park). After a rough 2011 season, it seemed like this was going to become the next step for Wakefield, but at least now he can focus on his personal life even more. His struggles during September were front page news for a while though, so he isn't exactly going out on top.

Wakefield will finish his career in Major League Baseball with a record of 200-180, an ERA of 4.41 and 2,156 career strikeouts. He made 463 career starts; pitching 3,226 2/23 innings over his extended career. His best season was actually his first with the Red Sox, when he went 16-8 with a 2.95 ERA way back in 1995. He does have two nice World Series rings to take with him into retirement though as well as becoming one of the longest-tenured pitchers to ever wear a Red Sox uniform.

It was definitely time for Wakefield to hang up the spikes and cap, even though he appeared fit enough to pitch a few more seasons. There was no reason left for him to continue hanging on though, so maybe this was a decision geared towards spending more time with the family.

What do you think of the career that Wakefield put together? Was he one of the best knuckleball pitchers to play the game?

Three-Time Japanese Batting Champion Signs Two-Year Deal

MILWAUKEE – The Milwaukee Brewers today signed outfielder Norichika Aoki to a two-year contract with a club option for 2014.  The announcement was made by Executive Vice President and General Manager Doug Melvin.

Aoki will be introduced to the media at a date and time to be determined.

 The Brewers were awarded the negotiating rights to Aoki on December 19 after the Tokyo Yakult Swallows of the Japanese Central League accepted the highest bid.  The team had until 4pm CT today to sign Aoki to a Major or Minor League professional contract.  Had Aoki not been signed, he would have returned to Japan and the Brewers would have received back their bid.

 Aoki, who turned 30 on January 5, has played his entire eight-year professional career with Yakult, batting .329 with 84 HR, 385 RBI and 164 stolen bases in 985 games.  He has batted over .300 in six of his seven full seasons and was Central League batting champion in 2005 (.344), 2007 (.346) and 2010 (.358).  He was 2005 Central League Rookie of the Year and is a six-time Golden Glove Award winner.

 Aoki has participated in both World Baseball Classic events (2006 and 2009), batting .310 with 8 RBI in 15 games, and competed in the 2008 Summer Olympics, batting .294 with 1 HR and 7 RBI in 9 games for Japan.

 Aoki worked out for the Brewers on January 8 at the team’s Spring Training facility in Maryvale, Arizona.  He bats left and throws right and wore uniform number one (1) while playing for Yakult.

MILWAUKEE – Brewers Community Foundation, the official charitable arm of the Milwaukee Brewers, will be honored as the recipient of the M&I, a partner of BMO Financial Group, Lincoln Gaines Award from the YMCA of Metropolitan Milwaukee.

 The Lincoln Gaines Award was created to honor the memory of Lincoln Gaines and his commitment to Milwaukee’s central city.  Gaines was a co-organizer of the North Central YMCA in 1929 and devoted over 50 years to improving the quality of life for Milwaukee’s youth.  Brewers Community Foundation will be honored at the YMCA 15^th Annual Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Breakfast on Monday, January 16 at the Frontier Airlines Center.

The YMCA seeks to recognize those members and organizations of the Milwaukee community that build awareness, speak on behalf of justice, celebrate diversity, and impel action in building a better future for all mankind. Award recipients are organizations that meet these criteria and embody the values articulated by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Brewers Community Foundation harnesses the pride, passion and commitment of Brewers fans, players and other supporters to positively impact the lives of children and their families in Greater Milwaukee and Wisconsin. 

Mark Dewey Joins Organization as Pitching Coach at Class-A Brevard County

MILWAUKEE – The Milwaukee Brewers today announced that Fred Dabney has been named pitching coach at Triple-A Nashville.  He takes the position vacated by Chris Bosio, who was hired as pitching coach of the Chicago Cubs on December 16, 2011.  Meanwhile, Mark Dewey has joined the organization as pitching coach at Class-A Brevard County, which was previously occupied by Dabney.

Dabney spent the past seven seasons as pitching coach at Brevard County.  He joined the organization in 2004 and spent his first season as pitching coach at Double-A Huntsville.  Dabney served as interim bullpen coach with the Brewers from April 23-May 23, 2010 after Stan Kyles underwent prostate surgery.  Prior to joining the Brewers organization, he spent five seasons as a pitching coach in the Texas Rangers organization.

Greg Barajas joins the Nashville Sounds as athletic trainer.  The two-time athletic trainer of the year and 14-year industry veteran spent the previous two seasons as assistant athletic trainer for the Boston Red Sox following 12 seasons in the minors.  He returns for a second career stint in the Milwaukee organization (previously 1998-2004).  Andrew Emmick returns for his third season as strength and conditioning specialist with Nashville.

Dewey joins Brevard County’s coaching staff following two seasons as pitching coach with the Washington Wild Things, an independent league team.  He served as pitching coach at Emory & Henry College in 2009 and has additional experience as pitching coach with the Aiken Foxhounds of the South Coast League (2007) and with the Kingsport Mets (2000 and 2002).  Dewey pitched six seasons in the Major Leagues and compiled a 12-7 record with a 3.65 ERA in 205 games between San Francisco (1990, ’95-96), New York-NL (1992) and Pittsburgh (1993-94).

Aaron Hoback returns to Double-A Huntsville for his third season as athletic trainer and Tim Gifford will join the Stars as strength and conditioning specialist following a season with the Timber Rattlers.  The strength and conditioning specialists include the following: Jonah Mergen (second season with Brevard County), Christian Polega (Wisconsin), Matt Cole (Helena) and Jake Marx (second season with Arizona Brewers).

In addition, the Rookie Dominican Summer League staff will return for 2012.  Manager Nestor Corredor enters his third season at the helm.  The staff also includes coach Luis De Los Santos, pitching coach Jose Nunez, coach Jose Pena, pitching coach assistant Geraldo Obispo and athletic trainer Ken Johnson.  Russell McCarthy will join the club as strength and conditioning specialist.

MILWAUKEE – Teddy Werner, Senior Director – Business Operations for the Milwaukee Brewers, was today named to the “Forty Under 40” list for 2012 by The Milwaukee Business Journal.

“Teddy has been a versatile and highly-valued member of our front office staff since he joined the organization in 2006,” said Rick Schlesinger, Brewers Chief Operating Officer.  “His hard work and creativity have helped develop numerous projects and initiatives that have enhanced Miller Park for all fans.  He is very deserving of this honor and we are happy to have him here on our team.”

Werner, 35, will enter his seventh season with the Brewers in 2012 and his second under his current title.  He joined the organization in April of 2006 as Manager – Legal Affairs and Special Projects.  In 2008, Werner was named Director – Special Projects and in 2009, he was promoted to Director of Business Operations.

In his role, Werner assists with the Brewers business affairs, with particular attention paid to construction projects and other enhancements to the Miller Park experience.  Projects that have been completed under Werner’s guidance include the new Miller Park scoreboard, the renovated Brewers Team Store by Majestic, and the upgrades Miller Park’s Club Level and Founder’s Suites.  He also oversees the salary arbitration process in cooperation with the Brewers baseball operations department.

In addition to his work with the Brewers, Werner has also been active in the Milwaukee community. He is a board member of the Milwaukee College Preparatory School and is co-founder of the Miracle League of Milwaukee.

A native of Los Angeles, Werner resides in Whitefish Bay with his wife, Karin, and children, Isabel, Andy and Nora.  He graduated from Yale University in 1998 and from Duke Law School in 2003.