When Wakefield makes his first start of 2005, it will mark the 11th season he has pitched for the Red Sox. How many players stay with one team for that long in this era?

The veteran knuckleballer thoroughly relishes his role as a throwback.

"It is a little weird, being able to stay with a club for as long as I have," Wakefield said. "I think it's special. It shows the loyalty of the club. I feel lucky to be in this position. Not a lot of guys get that opportunity, and I've had the luck on my side to be able to stay here. I was a free agent at one time and I decided to come back, and I'm glad I made that decision."

Consider that when Wakefield first arrived on the scene in Boston as a reclamation project, Roger Clemens, Mo Vaughn and Mike Greenwell were among the men he called teammates. How long ago does that seem?

During his time, Wakefield has watched icons such as Nomar Garciaparra and Pedro Martinez come and go. He's been around for the managerial regimes of Kevin Kennedy, Jimy Williams, Joe Kerrigan, Grady Little and now, Terry Francona.

Wakefield has felt the heartache of coming agonizingly close to the goal, and now he knows what it's like to reach it. Never has he felt so gratified in his professional life.

"You work so hard for so long to accomplish one goal and you finally accomplish it," Wakefield said. "All that hard work, sweat and tears, grinding it out for two or three months that we had to grind it out -- to finally get to that ultimate goal is truly a special moment, not only in my career, but in my lifetime. Being able to share with so many people is truly a special moment."

If Jason Varitek is the captain of the Red Sox,Trot Nixon is the grit, Curt Schilling is the ace, Johnny Damon is the catalyst, and Manny Ramirez and David Ortiz are the big boppers, Wakefield is simply the ambassador. He represents the organization with class -- always.

Never has he enjoyed that ambassador role more than the past few months. Seeing the glow on the faces of Red Sox fans all winter has yet to get old for Wakefield.

"The biggest thing I get is a thank you," said Wakefield. "A handshake and a thank you. I think that touches me more than anything, knowing that we affected not only their generation, but previous generations and future generations. We accomplished a feat that people waited a long time to see."

Wakefield will be 39 in August. He is in the last year of his contract. But this is a man clearly not thinking about retirement.

"I'd like to pitch for as long as I can. I don't want to put a set number on it," said Wakefield. "Being a knuckleballer, I think I can pitch a lot longer. It's just a matter of how much longer I want to play. I feel better physically now than I did three or four years ago. It's just a matter of trying to get an extension done."

No. 49 has no plans of testing the free agent waters.

"Last year at the [Boston baseball] writers dinner, Larry [Lucchino] and Tom [Werner] said I could be a Red Sox for the rest of my life. That's what I want to do," said Wakefield.

While Boston's clubhouse was ecstatic after winning the World Series, it's hard to imagine anyone appreciated the moment more than Wakefield.

"I think the thing that touched me the most was being able to hand the trophy to Johnny Pesky in St. Louis that night," said Wakefield. "And a couple of days later I saw Dwight Evans in the clubhouse. He shook my hand and said, 'Thanks, I'm glad to see that you guys could get it done. We tried so many times to get it done and never could get it done.'

"It's for the former players who have been part of the organization for so long -- guys like Jim Rice, Luis Tiant, Dwight Evans, Johnny Pesky, Bobby Doer, Dom Dimaggio -- it was really special that we were able to have them experience us winning a World Series."

And now Wakefield will be part of the first Red Sox team since 1919 to try and repeat as champions.

He was sad to see his friend and long-time rotation mate Martinez depart, but he's excited about the new pitchers who will arrive on the scene at Spring Training.

"I can't wait," said Wakefield. "Our offseason this year was a lot shorter than most. But January rolls around and I'm ready to go back to work."