Now I can finally say: "It's over."

As we all wipe our tears, some of you will pretend "there's something in my eye." Yeah, no. We see you. It's okay to cry it out.

But enough crying. We knew it would happen someday, and that day is here.  To get your mind off today's tearjerking events, here are some fun facts about the knuckleballer.

• Tim's middle name is Stephen, and he was born in Melbourne, Florida
• Wake has more innings pitched for the Red Sox than any other player, with 2,944, nearly 200 innings more than Roger Clemens
• Nominated for the MLB Roberto Clemente Award for community service eight times, Tim won in 2010
• Wakefield was a first baseman until the minor leagues, and his Florida Tech number (3) was retired in 2006
• Wake converted to pitching full time the same year I was born, in 1990, with the Single-A Salem Buccaneers 
• With a single home run in his career (1993 with Pittsburgh), Wakefield wasn't a great hitter - but always a great teammate
• Wakefield took himself off the playoff roster in 2007, allowing the team to fill his slot with an uninjured player and win a World Series
• Tim Wakefield has the 56th most career strikeouts all-time, with 2,156
• Tim Wakefield pitched at my very first baseball game at Fenway Park

And yes, I know most of you don't care about the last one, but I'm full of nostalgia and I can't help myself.