Boston Red Sox Doc Director Remembers Tim Wakefield's Generosity (Exclusive)

The late Tim Wakefield's generosity as director of the new Netflix documentaries knew no bounds The comeback: 2004 Boston Red Sox experienced up close.

Colin Barnicle is a documentary film director who grew up in the Boston area and worked as a club manager for the Red Sox between 2005 and 2007. While Barnicle wasn't working for the Red Sox in 2004, he first met the late Wakefield, who died last year at age 57, while working for the ballclub the following season.

When the Red Sox won the World Series at the end of the 2007 MLB season, Barnicle told PEOPLE, the team's players decided to give Barnicle a partial share of a cash bonus they had received, which he said was “in the order of magnitude.” of tens of thousands of dollars”. ”

“The players have to vote on this,” he says. “And Wakefield was the guy who stood up for me in the vote.”

Barnicle says he and his wife eventually used the money the Red Sox — and Wakefield — gave him for a down payment on a house. “So Tim Wakefield has completely helped my life in a very direct way,” he tells PEOPLE.

While conducting interviews for the new Netflix series, the filmmaker noted that many of Wakefield's former Red Sox teammates (he played for Boston between 1995 and 2011) remembered the two-time champion's generous spirit.

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“This is a guy who did this for everyone. He was a great team leader. And the way the players talked about him and his death actually helped us in some ways during the interviews,” Barnicle says. “Every player was more present. They realized this was such a big deal in 2003 and 2004 and what they were doing. They thought of Wakefield and the time they spent with him and the idea that they were talking about something that was.” “It's alive and breathing for them, like a living and breathing memory, the one after Tim's death became more present. This team is so close to them.”

A key member of Boston's World Series teams in both 2004 and 2007, Wakefield was a fan favorite in Boston, nicknamed “The Heavy” in the team's clubhouse, Barnicle recalls. While speaking with PEOPLE, Barnicle noted that at least one Red Sox player from that 2004 season moved back to Massachusetts after his death to be closer to Wakefield's family. (Wakefield's wife, Stacy, died in February, just five months after her husband's death. The couple had two children together.)

“It wasn't just, 'That's great, we were a close team and 20 years later we'll see each other again at a reunion,'” Barnicle adds, reflecting on the Red Sox alumni bond over 20 years their 2004 World Series win. “These are guys who really, really loved each other and loved each other's families and hung out all the time.”

The comeback: 2004 Boston Red Sox is now streaming on Netflix.