Heartbreak continues with death of Stacy Wakefield

Stacy Wakefield had somewhere she needed to be.

Two months after her husband, longtime Red Sox pitcher Tim Wakefield, died from cancer — and with the disease wreaking havoc inside her own body — she was back at Boston’s Dana Farber Children’s Hospital, delivering presents and some cheer to cancer-ailing kids days before last Christmas.

“To a lot of people she was Tim’s wife, but to us she was definitely her own powerhouse,” recalled Lisa Scherber, who has been the director of patient and family programs at Dana Farber’s Jimmy Fund Clinic for 31 years. “That described her to a T, it’s not what she needed to do at that moment. ... But that was her goal, make sure these kids felt joy.”

That joy gave way to more pain Wednesday when Stacy died at the age of 53. But for Scherber, it was a perfect example of the “Mama Bear” that Stacy was.

That spirit continued to be celebrated by the Red Sox on Thursday. They followed up social media tributes to Stacy on Wednesday with another prior to the team’s spring training game in Florida against Detroit.

The Red Sox observed a moment of silence before the first pitch, including a picture that appeared on the outfield video screen of Tim and Stacy, along with a message that read, “We remember Stacy Wakefield.”

Former Red Sox pitcher Jon Lester, who won two World Series rings with Wakefield, was at the game and said Stacy’s death less than five months after Tim’s put his thoughts immediately on their kids, Trevor and Brianna.

“I can only imagine, at my age now, losing both my parents in five months,” Lester said. “But I hope they know they have the family here with the Red Sox.”

Manager Alex Cora, also a teammate of Wakefield, recalled a couple whose passions extended well beyond baseball.

“They were so big for us, not only on the field but off the field,” Cora said Wednesday. “She was very strong. She was there for him and now we’re here for the kids and that’s the most important thing.”

GLENDALE, Ariz. — Shohei Ohtani stunned the Dodgers — and many around the world — with his marriage announcement on Thursday, so manager Dave Roberts said any gift the team gives the two-time MVP would be like most of the money in his contract: deferred.

“I’m very happy for him and his bride,” Roberts said, smiling. “As far as wedding gifts, we got surprised and didn’t have much time to think about it. I’m sure it’s en route.”

Ohtani, the two-way Japanese star, revealed on Instagram early Thursday that he was married. Much of the relationship remains shroudded in mystery.

“She is a Japanese woman,” Ohtani said through an interpreter. “I don’t really feel comfortable talking about when I got married exactly, but she’s a normal Japanese woman.”

Ohtani only gave a few more tidbits about the relationship during a short interview on Thursday, saying he had known his new bride for three or four years.

The 29-year-old Ohtani is Japan’s biggest celebrity.

There has been curiosity about his personal life, which he has always kept private. His focus and his image has always been 100%-baseball and free of scandals.

“I felt like it was good timing because it was before the season,” Ohtani said. “I didn’t really want any distractions once the season started. I would have liked to announce it earlier, but there were some paperwork issues that (delayed) the whole process.”

Ohtani moved from the Angels to the Dodgers in December on a record $700 million, 10-year contract that calls for $680 million to be paid from 2034-43.

Ohtani said his marriage didn’t affect how he treated free agency.

“She has a great understanding of my profession, and she’s willing to be wherever I wanted to play and ultimately it was my decision,” Ohtani said.

The post on Instagram included a photo of his dog “Dekopin,” whom Ohtani also calls “Decoy.”

He wrote: “We hope the two of us — and one animal — will work together.”

The news broke in the middle of the night in North America and late afternoon in Japan where it was immediately the top news item.