Background and career
Kerry Lee Wood (born June 16, 1977) is an American former baseball pitcher who played 14 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Chicago Cubs, Cleveland Indians, and New York Yankees. Wood first came to prominence as a 20-year-old rookie, when he recorded 20 strikeouts in a one-hit shutout against the Houston Astros, which some have argued may be the greatest single-game pitching performance in MLB history. The game also made Wood the co-holder of the MLB record for strikeouts in a single game (20) and earned Wood the nickname "Kid K". He was later named the 1998 National League Rookie of the Year. Wood went on to record over 200 strikeouts in four out of his first five seasons, with a high of 266 in 2003. He holds several MLB strikeout records. Though he struggled with injuries throughout his career, Wood was twice named an All-Star. Wood transitioned to a relief pitcher in 2007 due to continued struggles with injuries, ultimately reviving his career as a closer. During his career, Wood was placed on the disabled list 14 times in 14 major league seasons, which included missing the entire 1999 season due to Tommy John surgery. After a slow start to the 2012 season, Wood retired on May 18, 2012.
Wood attended MacArthur High School in Irving, Texas, for his first three seasons of high-school baseball. He continued his education at Grand Prairie High School for his final season as a high-school player. As a senior, Wood went 14-0 with a 0.77 ERA and 159 strikeouts in 81 innings, and was named All-American and Texas 5A Player of the Year. Wood was high-school teammates with Kevin Walker. He initially committed to play college baseball at McLennan Community College in Waco.
The Chicago Cubs drafted Wood as the fourth overall selection in the 1995 Major League Baseball draft. Two days after being drafted, he started both ends of a doubleheader in the Texas state playoffs, throwing 175 pitches between the two games; the Cubs were outraged. He split his first professional season between the GCL Cubs and the Williamsport Cubs of the New York-Penn League. Ranked as the 16th best prospect in baseball by Baseball America in 1996, he pitched to a 2.91 ERA with 136 strikeouts in 22 starts for the Daytona Cubs of the Florida State League. He was also considered the top prospect in the league and the Cubs organization. In 1997, Baseball America ranked Wood as the third best player in the game, behind only Andruw Jones and Vladimir Guerrero. He played for the Orlando Rays in Double-A and the Iowa Cubs in Triple-A. Wood also began the 1998 season in the minors, striking out 11 batters in a single five-inning start.
Wood made his first appearance in the major leagues on April 12, 1998. In his fifth career start, on May 6, he threw a one-hit, no-walk, 20-strikeout shutout against the Houston Astros in Wrigley Field, tying Roger Clemens's record for strikeouts in a nine-inning game and breaking Bill Gullickson's single-game rookie record of 18 strikeouts in 1980. Wood allowed only two baserunners: Ricky Gutiérrez on an infield single and Craig Biggio, who was hit by a pitch with a count of one ball and two strikes. (Biggio had led the league in that category each of the previous three years and is second all-time in hit-by-pitches with 285.) Only seven balls reached fair territory. The Astros went on to lead the league in on-base percentage, and all of the regulars who were in the lineup, including the four who finished the season batting over .300, went hitless. The performance garnered a game score of 105 – the highest number ever calculated for a pitcher in a nine-inning game. Wood finished the 1998 season with a 13–6 record; despite missing the last month of the season with elbow soreness, he easily won the National League Rookie of the Year award. He pitched one game in the playoffs, losing against the Atlanta Braves.
During spring training of 1999, he tore his ulnar collateral ligament (UCL). Wood underwent successful Tommy John surgery to repair damage to the UCL in his right elbow, and missed the entire 1999 season. Wood returned in 2000 and had an 8–7 record, but the following season, he returned to form. In 2001, Wood went 12–6 with a 3.36 ERA. He recorded a one-hit, 14-strikeout complete-game shutout on May 25, 2001. On August 3, 2001, he struck out nine batters and gave up only one run over eight innings to defeat Chan Ho Park and the Los Angeles Dodgers 2-1 to extend the Cubs' lead in National League Central to 3.5 games. The following season, Wood finished 12–11 with a 3.67 ERA, and did not miss a start all year long, setting career highs with 213.6 innings pitched and 33 starts. He had 217 strikeouts in both seasons. In 2003, Wood set career highs with 266 strikeouts, 14 wins (as part of a 14–11 record), a 3.20 ERA, and two shutouts. He threw the fastest fastball in the majors among starters, averaging 95.4 miles per hour. He also walked 100 batters and surrendered 24 home runs, also career highs, but was selected as a National League All-Star and helped lead the Cubs to the playoffs as one half of "Chicago Heat" along with fellow pitcher Mark Prior. Wood earned two wins in the Divisional Series against the Atlanta Braves and was the starter in Game 3 of the 2003 National League Championship Series, which the Cubs won in extra innings. However, the Cubs lost in seven games to the eventual World Series champion Florida Marlins. In the decisive Game 7, Wood hit the first home run by a pitcher in an NLCS game since another Cub, Rick Sutcliffe, did so in Game 1 in 1984. However, the Marlins won the game 9-6. Wood was the losing pitcher and the Cubs were eliminated.
Wood went 8-9 during the 2004 season and was sidelined for nearly two months with a strained triceps. In 2005, Wood continued to struggle. On August 31, 2005, Wood underwent surgery and missed the remainder of the season. During spring training in 2006, Wood suffered several injuries that required an additional surgery (on his knee). On May 18, 2006, Wood returned to the Cubs' pitching rotation when he started and lost a home game against the Washington Nationals. In June, Wood returned to the disabled list (DL) with a sore shoulder. The following month, the Cubs announced that Wood had sustained a partially torn rotator cuff, which was likely to keep him from pitching again for the rest of the year. At the end of the 2006 season, the Cubs exercised their option on Wood's contract and bought out the remaining $13M.
