Professional career Kerry Wood

1 professional career

1.1 chicago cubs

1.1.1 1995–1997
1.1.2 1998
1.1.3 1999–2003
1.1.4 2004–2006
1.1.5 2007–2008


1.2 cleveland indians
1.3 new york yankees
1.4 second stint chicago cubs
1.5 mlb records

professional career
chicago cubs
1995–1997

the chicago cubs drafted wood fourth overall selection in 1995 amateur draft. spent 3 years playing in minor leagues. best season in minors came in 1996, when posted 10–2 record daytona cubs. played triple-a iowa cubs. in 1997, led minor league pitchers in walks, 131.

1998

wood made first appearance in major leagues on april 12, 1998. in fifth career start, on may 6, threw one-hit, no-walk, 20-strikeout shutout against houston astros in wrigley field, tying roger clemens record strikeouts in nine-inning game , breaking bill gullickson s single-game rookie record of 18 strikeouts in 1980.

wood allowed 2 baserunners: ricky gutiérrez on infield single , craig biggio hit pitch count of 2 strikes , 1 ball. (biggio had led league in category each of previous 3 years.) 7 balls reached fair territory. 5 grounders never left infield (including gutierrez s hit), 1 short fly along right field line, , fly center. foul pop caught first baseman mark grace , remaining twenty putouts credited catcher sandy martínez, caught entire game. wood had no special advantages – astros went on lead league in on-base-percentage, , of regulars in lineup, including 4 finished season batting on 300. performance garnered game score of 105 – highest number ever calculated pitcher in nine-inning game.

wood finished 1998 season 13–6 record; despite missing last month of season elbow soreness, won national league rookie of year award. pitched 1 game in playoffs, losing against atlanta braves.

1999–2003

during spring training of 1999, tore ucl. wood underwent successful tommy john surgery repair damage ulnar collateral ligament in right elbow, , missed entire 1999 season.

wood returned in 2000 , had 8–7 record, following season, returned form. in 2001, wood went 12–6 3.36 era. recorded one-hit, 14-strikeout complete game shutout on may 25, 2001. on aug. 3, 2001, struck out 9 batters , gave 1 run on 8 innings defeat chan ho park , los angeles dodgers 2-1 extend cubs lead in national league central 3.5 games. following season, wood finished 12–11 3.67 era, , did not miss start year long, setting career highs 213.6 innings pitched , 33 starts. had 217 strikeouts in both seasons.

in 2003, wood set career highs 266 strikeouts, 14 wins (as part of 14–11 record), 3.20 era, , 2 shutouts. threw fastest fastball in majors among starters, averaging 95.4 miles per hour. walked 100 batters , surrendered 24 home runs, career highs, selected national league all-star , helped lead cubs playoffs 1 half of chicago heat along fellow pitcher mark prior.

wood earned 2 wins in divisional series against atlanta braves , starter in game 3 of 2003 national league championship series, cubs won in innings. however, cubs lost in 7 games eventual world series champion florida marlins. in decisive game 7, wood hit first home run pitcher in nlcs game since cub, rick sutcliffe, did in game 1 in 1984. however, marlins won game 9-6. wood losing pitcher , cubs eliminated.

2004–2006

wood went 8-9 during 2004 season , sidelined 2 months strained triceps.

in 2005, wood continued struggle. on august 31, 2005, wood underwent surgery , missed remainder of season. during spring training in 2006, wood suffered several injuries required additional surgery (on knee). on may 18, 2006, wood returned cubs pitching rotation when started , lost home game against washington nationals. in june, wood returned dl sore shoulder. following month, cubs announced wood had sustained partially torn rotator cuff keep him pitching again rest of year. @ end of 2006 season, cubs exercised option on wood s contract , bought out remaining $13m.

2007–2008

with long history of injuries , inability stay in starting rotation, wood accepted cubs offer return relief pitcher in 2007. wood attempted sustain regular throwing schedule , appearances during spring training games. however, wood placed on 15-day dl soreness in elbow , moved 60-day dl. wood considered retiring if continued have pain in throwing arm. began playing catch on may 21. in first rehab assignment in cubs rookie ball, struck out 3 batters faced. on july 24, pitched 1 inning single-a peoria chiefs, throwing 9 pitches. made back-to-back appearances on july 26 , july 27, throwing fastball between 92-94 mph no discomfort.

the cubs activated wood 60-day disabled list on august 3, causing many believe make actual return on day. in seventh inning, however, lou piniella opted send bob howry mound, , fans, eager see kerry on hill, mistakenly gave howry standing ovation, realize moments later not wood. piniella later stated wanted wood receive softer landing , or in other words, make return in game cubs have comfortable lead on opponents. wood made return on august 5, cubs trailing new york mets 4 runs. pitched single inning, during allowed 1 hit, , struck out batter. piniella praised wood s performance, stating threw ball real , , breaking ball had bite it, , threw there 93-94, expected . remained healthy appearing in 22 games , posting 1-1 record solid 3.33 era.

he limited 1 inning per outing, not appearing in games on back days, though did pitch in both halves of double header on september 15. wood major contributor cubs nl central division championship down stretch in late september, earning win , 8 holds. wood filed free-agency on november 11, 2007, though suggested wanted remain in pinstripes 2008 season. despite multi-year offers other teams, wood agreed one-year, $4.2 million deal cubs.

wood, along bob howry , carlos mármol, competed role cubs closer after ryan dempster moved starting rotation. after posting 2.84 era in spring, wood won job. recorded first career save april 3, 2008 win on brewers. wood recorded 34 saves in 39 opportunities, 82 strike-outs , 1.12 whip. selected 2008 mlb all-star game relief pitcher on july 6, 2008 along 6 other teammates.

wood placed on 15-day dl on july 24, 2008 blister on right index finger.

on november 13, 2008, after acquiring closer kevin gregg florida marlins, cubs general manager jim hendry announced organization did not plan re-sign wood. had requested multi-year contract team, deferred due financial reasons. wood stated wished remain cubs, wanted continue playing baseball.

cleveland indians

wood pitching cleveland indians in 2010.

on december 13, 2008, wood signed two-year contract cleveland indians.

cubs fans showed appreciation him giving him standing ovation when cleveland indians played @ wrigley field on june 19, 2009. during 2010 season, wood placed on disabled list until may 8 due upper muscle strain. on july 17, 2010, wood placed on disabled list 14th time in major league career, time due blister on right index finger.

new york yankees

wood traded cleveland indians new york yankees on july 31, 2010 andrew shive, matt cusick, , cash. yankees, went 2-0 0.69 era in 24 games, including 21 straight scoreless appearances, , served bridge mariano rivera in 2010 postseason. during 2010 postseason, wood had 2.25 era appearing in 7 games overall. yankees won 2010 alds against minnesota twins in 3 games lost texas rangers in 6 games of 2010 alcs.

the yankees announced on october 27 club had declined exercise option wood 2011.

second stint chicago cubs

on december 16, 2010, wood agreed one-year deal worth $1.5 million cubs. wood reportedly turned down offers long-term deals several other teams worth more money due desire keep family in chicago. wood re-signed cubs on january 13, 2012 1-year, $3 million deal team option 2013.

on may 18, 2012, wood retired, striking out (and therefore final) batter faced, dayán viciedo of chicago white sox. fans @ wrigley field gave wood long standing ovation son, justin, ran out greet him exited field. on baseball career: had fun, had blast , wood said. wouldn t trade in.

mlb records

fastest reach 1,000 strikeouts in mlb history (in appearances): 134 games
fastest reach 1,000 strikeouts in mlb history (in innings pitched): 853 ip
strikeouts in 9-inning game: 20 on may 6, 1998 (tied record roger clemens, randy johnson, , max scherzer)




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^ http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/chn/chn200105250.shtml
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^ wood credits cubs gm hendry s honesty, said leaving team bittersweet . espn. associated press. 2008-11-14. retrieved 2009-07-20. 
^ indians sign free agent rhp wood (press release). cleveland.indians.mlb.com. 2008-12-13. retrieved 2010-11-21. 
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