Kerry Wood to Retire

[FirstTimer]

http://espn.go.com/chicago/mlb/story/_/id/7945053/chicago-cubs-kerry-wood-retiring

Chicago Cubs pitcher Kerry Wood will retire on Friday, a source familiar with the situation told ESPNChicago.com's Bruce Levine.



Wood, 34, is 0-2 with a 8.64 ERA and has been battling health issues all season.

Wood is best-known for his 20-strikeout game during his rookie of the year campaign in 1998, earning him the nickname "Kid K."

He was a driving force behind four playoff teams -- 1998, 2003, 2007 and 2008. He won two games against the Atlanta Braves in the NLDS in 2003, pushing the Cubs into the NLCS.

Wood pitched for the Cubs until 2009, when he left as a free agent for the Cleveland Indians. He spent 1½ seasons in Cleveland before being traded to the New York Yankees in 2010, and was part of their bullpen as they advanced to the ALCS.

Wood returned to the Cubs in 2011 at a bargain price, $1.5 million for one year. He had maintained a residence in Chicago and is considered one of the most popular Cubs in recent history.

The two-time All-Star finished with an 86-75 record and 3.67 ERA. He also had 63 saves.

[Guest]

Great case of "what could have been" for Wood and the Cubs. Also, good choice to go out like this, instead of collecting a paycheck and taking a roster spot for the rest of the season, not to mention when you are struggling like he was and not 100%

[FirstTimer]

Maybe the most dominating pitching performance in MLB history.

[Senser81]

Kerry Wood this year has been beyond terrible. Many years ago the Cubs paid big money to Astros closer Dave Smith, and he was almost as bad as Wood. Same when LaTroy Hawkins was put in the closer role.

[dell71]

One of the all-time "what if" guys along with former teammate Mark Prior. Remember when those two were supposed to lead the Cubbies to the promised land?

[FirstTimer]

One of the all-time "what if" guys along with former teammate Mark Prior. Remember when those two were supposed to lead the Cubbies to the promised land?

Yeah. Huge what if. Two pretty young guys anchoring the top of that rotation. Jeez. I've heard of a team losing one stud pitcher/prospect for good. Has there ever been a case where two proven young stud pitchers on the same team go down and flameout like Prior and Wood did?

[Senser81]

Has there ever been a case where two proven young stud pitchers on the same team go down and flameout like Prior and Wood did?

The 1981 A's had 4 potentially great starters under 30 (Langford, McCatty, Norris, Keough), and Billy Martin essentially ended all of their careers by having them pitch more complete games than the rest of the MLB combined. I think McCatty and Norris were used up within 2 years, while Langford and Keough pitched a bit longer but were never as effective.

[FirstTimer]

Per Fangraphs:

Based on Game Score, Kerry Wood‘s 20 strikeout game against the Astros on May 6th, 1998 is the best-pitched nine-inning game in Major League history. The 105 score is better than every perfect game and four points better than any other game period. He was 41 days shy of his 21st birthday and it was his fifth big league start.

Wood, now 34, is set to announce his retirement from baseball today according to ESPN Chicago’s Bruce Levine. Among pitchers who have thrown at least 1,000 career innings, his career 10.31 K/9 is the best in history by a right-handed pitcher and the second best all-time behind Randy Johnson (10.61 K/9). His 20 strikeouts against Houston remains the National League single-game record, and five days later he struck out 13 Diamondbacks to set the all-time record for strikeouts in consecutive starts (33).

In many ways, Wood is the embodiment of everything that can happen with young pitchers. He dominated, he walked a ton of guys, he got hurt, he dominated again, got hurt again, shifted to the bullpen, and then got hurt yet again. Unlike Mark Prior, Wood was hurt long before Dusty Baker came to Chicago’s north side and starting running arms through the shredder. He had Tommy John surgery in 1999 and shoulder inflammation in 2001, but still managed to rack up 17.2 WAR before his career really flew off the rails in 2004.

The laundry list of injuries includes labrum and rotator cuff surgery, five separate DL stints for non-surgical shoulder problems, knee surgery, back problems, blisters, an oblique strain, and triceps issues in addition to the elbow reconstruction. Wood spent 16 different stints on the disabled list during his 14-year career, including a bout with shoulder inflammation this season that appears to have contributed to his decision to retire. Frankly, it’s surprising he didn’t call it a career sooner given all the physical problems.

In an age when the term “electric stuff” gets slapped on every kid with a mid-90s fastball, none have lived up to the moniker like Wood. His fastball would legitimately sit in the mid-to-upper-90s early in his career and that curveball … it was just a thing of beauty. Batters swung and missed at his offerings a whopping 12.3% of the time since the data starting being recorded in 2002, a testament to how nasty he was. Wood topped the 200 IP plateau only twice (2002 and 2003) but he had four different seasons of 3+ WAR, including another at 2.7. He started, he closed, and he setup between injuries for the Cubs, the Indians, the Yankees, and then the Cubs again.

It’s almost impossible to find someone who wasn’t a fan of Kerry Wood. He was never an underdog in the sense that he lacked talent — he had talent to spare, if anything — but he was an underdog in that his body did everything it could to sabotage his greatness. Wood was one of the most exciting pitchers of his generation, fitting the Texas fireballer stereotype to a tee. Paul Sullivan of The Chicago Tribune says he’ll announce the decision following this afternoon’s game, and chances are Wood will make his final appearance as a player in relief and walk off the field to a standing ovation. After all he’s been through, Kerry will leave the game of baseball on his own terms and that’s awesome.

[nwfisch]

Yeah but the umpire had a large strike zone and should have been fired.

11 of the Ks came up on balls or hitters that swung at balls.

[NAHSTE]

I will never forget watching the 20K game on WGN as a wee lad, and thinking Kerry was the next Nolan Ryan. IIRC, his pitching coach stated afterward that he did not throw a single pitch that day under 90 MPH. His phenom status was short-lived, but well-earned. Hell of an arm, so-so career, but he will always have his place in the fabric of the game.

[dell71]

Too lazy to find the original article, but can someone refresh me on how they arrived at the score 105 for his 20K game? Call me slow, but I'm having a hard time with how someone can be more "dominant" than retiring every hitter they face.

[FirstTimer]

I will never forget watching the 20K game on WGN as a wee lad, and thinking Kerry was the next Nolan Ryan. IIRC, his pitching coach stated afterward that he did not throw a single pitch that day under 90 MPH. His phenom status was short-lived, but well-earned. Hell of an arm, so-so career, but he will always have his place in the fabric of the game.

I remember the next season Kyle Farnsworth was supposed to be the "next big thing" as a texas fireballer or whatever...even though he wasn't from Texas. Him and Wood in 2000 were supposed anchor the Cubs rotation as top line guys. Farnsworth flunked as a starter, Wood could never stay healthy..then enter Prior...

[FirstTimer]

Too lazy to find the original article, but can someone refresh me on how they arrived at the score 105 for his 20K game? Call me slow, but I'm having a hard time with how someone can be more "dominant" than retiring every hitter they face.

Wood only allowed 1 hit that game and didn't walk anyone. Craig Biggio was HBP(surprise surprise) and the one hit Wood did give up could have been ruled an error. Not sure how they scored it though. Can't find the info on FG's as far as how game score is calculated.

[Warner2BruceTD]

Too lazy to find the original article, but can someone refresh me on how they arrived at the score 105 for his 20K game? Call me slow, but I'm having a hard time with how someone can be more "dominant" than retiring every hitter they face.

Probably has to do with batted balls resulting in outs being considered 'luck' to some degree.

Yeah, I know.

[NAHSTE]

Gotta admit, that was a pretty fucking cool moment.