Kerry Wood

[ChiScottieBaseball]

Well, it's a sad day for me as a Cubs fan. Kerry Wood will retire after today's White Sox vs. Cubs game. They are hoping to get him into the rotation towards the end of the game. All the best Wood. I hope he stays with the organization in some capacity as he is really great person and helps local charities around Chicagoland. You will be missed...

[KJ Duke]

I don't care for pre-meditated in-game stoppages for accolades, like happened with Bonds, Sosa, etc. But Kerry Wood coming in for one batter - striking out Viciedo on 3 pitches, his last pitch an unhittable slider - was a great way to go out. All the cheering and the curtain call came during the pitching change, which was perfect. As noted during the broadcast, he retires with the second highest K/9 of all time. Loved watching him pitch more than anyone else, ever. He's the type of player that makes Cub fans so loyal.

[Winston's Empire]

I don't care for pre-meditated in-game stoppages for accolades, like happened with Bonds, Sosa, etc. But Kerry Wood coming in for one batter - striking out Viciedo on 3 pitches, his last pitch an unhittable slider - was a great way to go out. All the cheering and the curtain call came during the pitching change, which was perfect. As noted during the broadcast, he retires with the second highest K/9 of all time. Loved watching him pitch more than anyone else, ever. He's the type of player that makes Cub fans so loyal.

Completely agree KJ with everything you said. I always loved watching him pitch and rooted for him to get healthy. He never made excuses and literally always gave his best! Even when he left for Cleveland, I was happy for him and cheered him.
Today's K was a PERFECT Kerry Wood good bye!

[Ando]

K-Dub is a good dude. He and his family love Chicago and are very active with charities. It's nice that he got to call his shot on retirement. Fitting way to go out; the way he came in with a 'K'. Having his son in the dugout had to mean the world to him as well.

Us Cubby fans know where we were at on that cold and overcast day in May of 1998. I'm sure it was one of the few times that even Santo was at a loss for words. I can remember him just crying the whole top of the 9th as I drove home from work that day.

But in my eyes, K-Dubs career mirrors what it is to be a Cub fan - full of expectations, enjoyable, eternally optimistic but in the end - frustrating as hell leaving you scratching your head. I say that as a fan of 39 years.

If K-Dub wins Game 7 of the NLCS in '03 and they go onto win the World Series, he'd have a key to the city and Chicagoans sportsfan's hearts like Ditka and the '85 Bears do..........sh*t, they'd maybe even blow the '85 Bears out of the water and THAT'S sayin' something!

But again, his career path, that game, that season, and being a Cub fan are all just different chapters of the same book.

It was fun watching you throw a baseball K-Dub. You were great at it and you're a fine Chicagoan. I guess I was just looking and hoping for a little bit more.

[COZ]

As a lifelong Chicagoan and growing up a Cubs fan, I have had the opportunity to watch Kerry Wood firsthand from the time he was drafted until today, the day he retired. Like the above posts, the Chicago media is having a love fest for Kerry Wood. Yeah, today was a nice way to go out, but frankly, I don't understand all the adoration. For a franchise that builds statues of its announcers and raises pennants of the numbers of its retired players instead of championships, this misplaced adoration is so Cub-like.

Kerry Wood may be the most overrated pitcher in baseball history and the most overrated player in Cub history. The expectations for Kerry Wood to be the next Nolan Ryan or Roger Clemens were, I believe, unfairly set by his 20 strikeout game against Houston in the 5th start of his career. And from that point on, everyone wanted him to be that type of pitcher. And, viewed through the prism of that 20-strikeout game, everyone always thought he was that type of pitcher. But he never was. With that 20 strikeout game, Kerry Wood brought hope to Cubs fans. Hope is what baseball is all about. Hope of having a dominant pitcher, hope of watching the next Nolan Ryan, and hope of World Series championships to come. Apparently, the only thing Cubs fans expect of their franchise icons (mascots)...is that they provide hope. Because that is all Kerry Wood brought to the Cubs....HOPE. And plenty of DISAPPOINTMENT. Let's reflect on his career:

1) THE HOPE: The 20 strikeout game: The game that unfairly fueled the hope. Reflecting on that game 4 years ago on its 10 year anniversary Kerry Wood said, "Really, the thing that sticks out to me is I got some really generous calls." And when Wood was asked if it still blows his mind to think of what he did on that 20-K day, his answer is this: "That strike zone blows my mind." Yes, the strike zone. The opposing pitcher, Shane Reynolds had 10 strike-outs as well. On a Wednesday get-away day, where the forecast called for rain later in the day, Jerry Meals was the home plate umpire. Like Wood, Meals was a rookie first year umpire with a scant few weeks in the big Leagues. A rookie umpire who earlier that autumn was simply following a directive from MLB to all its Umpires to expand their strike zones. Games had become too long & dull and umpires were urged to get batters to stop looking at pitches and start swinging at them. Mission Accomplished Jerry Meals. 20-strikeouts. HOPE.

2) THE DISAPPOINTMENT: Game 7 of the 2003 NLCS Really what makes great players legendary is what they do on the biggest stage. There was no bigger stage for Kerry Wood than Game 7 v. the Marlins for a chance to go to the World Series. After the Bartman game. At home. Home teams had won 12 of 13 times a game went to a Game 7. Kerry Wood on the mound. We GOT this game. HOPE.
Top of the 1st: Wood gives up a 3-run HR to Miguel Cabrera. DISAPPOINTMENT.
Wood hits a 2-run HR. Cubs eventually take the lead 5-3 on a Moises Alou 2-run HR. HOPE.
Kerry Wood pitching with the lead, gives up 4 runs and is pulled in the 6th. Cubs lose. Kerry Wood takes the loss. His final line: 5.2 IP, 7 Hits, 7 ER, 4 BB, 6 SO. CUBS LOSE. DISAPPOINTMENT.

3) THE FACTS:

Kerry Wood never won that Game 7.
Kerry Wood never pitched in the World Series.
Kerry Wood never won a championship.
Kerry Wood never won more than 14 games in a season.
Kerry Wood spent 14 stints on the DL in 13 seasons (including missing the entire 1999 season).

The media will say Kerry Wood was a competitor, that he hated losing, he was a classy guy. Cubs fans will applaud him at the winter convention and revere him like a legend. And the Cubs marketing machine will parade him around like a mascot and honor him with a Kerry Wood day. But there is nothing to honor (other than smashing Sammy Sosa's boom box). The only thing Kerry Wood brought to Chicago was hope, but along with it, disappointment, symbolic of the entire history Chicago Cubs franchise. Much like the Cubs teams every year, he was always supposed to be better than this. Kerry Wood is, truly, the poster boy for Chicago Cubs baseball.

COZ

[Navel Lint]

As a lifelong Chicagoan and growing up a Cubs fan, I have had the opportunity to watch Kerry Wood firsthand from the time he was drafted until today, the day he retired. Like the above posts, the Chicago media is having a love fest for Kerry Wood. Yeah, today was a nice way to go out, but frankly, I don't understand all the adoration. For a franchise that builds statues of its announcers and raises pennants of the numbers of its retired players instead of championships, this misplaced adoration is so Cub-like.

Kerry Wood may be the most overrated pitcher in baseball history and the most overrated player in Cub history. The expectations for Kerry Wood to be the next Nolan Ryan or Roger Clemens were, I believe, unfairly set by his 20 strikeout game against Houston in the 5th start of his career. And from that point on, everyone wanted him to be that type of pitcher. And, viewed through the prism of that 20-strikeout game, everyone always thought he was that type of pitcher. But he never was. With that 20 strikeout game, Kerry Wood brought hope to Cubs fans. Hope is what baseball is all about. Hope of having a dominant pitcher, hope of watching the next Nolan Ryan, and hope of World Series championships to come. Apparently, the only thing Cubs fans expect of their franchise icons (mascots)...is that they provide hope. Because that is all Kerry Wood brought to the Cubs....HOPE. And plenty of DISAPPOINTMENT. Let's reflect on his career:

1) THE HOPE: The 20 strikeout game: The game that unfairly fueled the hope. Reflecting on that game 4 years ago on its 10 year anniversary Kerry Wood said, "Really, the thing that sticks out to me is I got some really generous calls." And when Wood was asked if it still blows his mind to think of what he did on that 20-K day, his answer is this: "That strike zone blows my mind." Yes, the strike zone. The opposing pitcher, Shane Reynolds had 10 strike-outs as well. On a Wednesday get-away day, where the forecast called for rain later in the day, Jerry Meals was the home plate umpire. Like Wood, Meals was a rookie first year umpire with a scant few weeks in the big Leagues. A rookie umpire who earlier that autumn was simply following a directive from MLB to all its Umpires to expand their strike zones. Games had become too long & dull and umpires were urged to get batters to stop looking at pitches and start swinging at them. Mission Accomplished Jerry Meals. 20-strikeouts. HOPE.

2) THE DISAPPOINTMENT: Game 7 of the 2003 NLCS Really what makes great players legendary is what they do on the biggest stage. There was no bigger stage for Kerry Wood than Game 7 v. the Marlins for a chance to go to the World Series. After the Bartman game. At home. Home teams had won 12 of 13 times a game went to a Game 7. Kerry Wood on the mound. We GOT this game. HOPE.
Top of the 1st: Wood gives up a 3-run HR to Miguel Cabrera. DISAPPOINTMENT.
Wood hits a 2-run HR. Cubs eventually take the lead 5-3 on a Moises Alou 2-run HR. HOPE.
Kerry Wood pitching with the lead, gives up 4 runs and is pulled in the 6th. Cubs lose. Kerry Wood takes the loss. His final line: 5.2 IP, 7 Hits, 7 ER, 4 BB, 6 SO. CUBS LOSE. DISAPPOINTMENT.

3) THE FACTS:

Kerry Wood never won that Game 7.
Kerry Wood never pitched in the World Series.
Kerry Wood never won a championship.
Kerry Wood never won more than 14 games in a season.
Kerry Wood spent 14 stints on the DL in 13 seasons (including missing the entire 1999 season).

The media will say Kerry Wood was a competitor, that he hated losing, he was a classy guy. Cubs fans will applaud him at the winter convention and revere him like a legend. And the Cubs marketing machine will parade him around like a mascot and honor him with a Kerry Wood day. But there is nothing to honor (other than smashing Sammy Sosa's boom box). The only thing Kerry Wood brought to Chicago was hope, but along with it, disappointment, symbolic of the entire history Chicago Cubs franchise. Much like the Cubs teams every year, he was always supposed to be better than this. Kerry Wood is, truly, the poster boy for Chicago Cubs baseball.

COZ

So you’re saying he might not be a lock for the Hall of Fame? I’ll tell you what, don’t make a rash decision, give it a couple of years and then I think you will see the light.

Signed,
Life Long Cubs Fan

[KJ Duke]

COZ - You sound more like a Sox fan. Maybe you have yet to experience life's disappointments ... and struggle against those disappointments as best you can without complaining at every turn. People like that, players like Kerry Wood, are far greater heroes in my view than those that sail through life with good fortune. You can have your 9 jerks who won a world series or made the HOF, I'll take one Kerry Wood on my team and be happy about it.

[COZ]

Maybe you have yet to experience life's disappointments ...

Well, I am a Cubs fan...so I have experienced many disappointments. Though I am a Cubs fan (actually I prefer to say a Cubs observer), like a scorned lover, I actually hate the Cubs, if you know what I mean. I'll take the World Series championships and HOF's over the nice guys who finish last. Sick of it.

Your point is well-taken though, KJ. I just want Cub Nation to raise the level of expectation to honor winners and championships, and not settle for giving-it-your-all without complaint as our expectation level. Maybe I should just become a Yankee fan, that's an organ-I-zation committed to winning.

COZ