BOSTON — There’s something to be said for longevity.

One thing you could say is that it would’ve been nice if Tim Wakefield had stuck around longer last night.

The veteran knuckleballer was gone before the third inning was over, having been hammered for three homers.

Last night may prove to be the last time Sox fans see Wakefield — at least as a starter. And for those who, after such a shellacking, say “good riddance,” shame on them.

While Wakefield was ineffective last night, he has been a good pitcher for Boston for a long time. And it’s fair to say that “Wake” did more than his share over the years to help the Sox reach the playoffs.

Consider the following: Only two pitchers have won more games for the Red Sox than Wakefield, and both are in the Hall of Fame. Roger Clemens and Cy Young are tied for the team lead with 192. Wakefield has won 164.

Even though Wakefield hadn’t pitched since the final day of the regular season, when he threw five shutout innings against the Yanks at Fenway, Francona last night made him the oldest pitcher — at 42 years, 73 days — ever to start an ALCS game.

Wakefield was eager to take the ball, and had been optimistic about his chances for success, even though he was 0-2 this season against the Rays, with an ERA of 5.87. He was, after all, 19-5 in his career against Tampa Bay, although those wins were recorded against last-place teams, not this year’s division-winning club.

But, by the third inning, he was gone.

“I’m not going to stand here and make excuses,” he said afterwards. “I prepared myself the best way I knew how.”

Nor is he going to panic, not having been on so many Red Sox teams — the 1999 team, which came back from an 0-2 deficit to beat the Indians, 3-2, in the ALDS; the 2003 team, which came back from the same ALDS deficit against the A’s; the 2004 team, which made the mother of all comebacks (down 0-3 to the Yankees in the ALCS), and the 2007 team, which erased a 1-3 deficit in the ALCS against the Indians — that have crawled out of holes just as bad as this one.

“We’ve been here before,” he said. “We’ve been down 3-0 and come back to win. It’s going to take a group effort [tomorrow in Game Five]. We’ve got to come out and play better ball. Hopefully, we can get it done.”

jdonalds@projo.com