Former MLB pitcher Wilbur Wood passed away yesterday at the age of 84.
Wood was born here in Cambridge, Massachusetts and grew up in neighboring Belmont where he excelled in baseball, football and hockey.
Prior to the 1960 season, Wood signed with the hometown Boston Red Sox and would make his MLB debut in 1961 at the age of 19. However, in 36 appearances with the Bosox over four seasons, Wood went 0-5 with a 4.85 ERA.
The Red Sox sold Wood's contract to the Pittsburgh Pirates late in the 1964 season and he would not earn his first MLB win until August 29, 1965, during a one inning relief appearance against the Houston Astros. It proved be Wood's only win in a Bucs uniform as he would spend the entire 1966 season with the Pirates' Triple-AAA affiliate in Columbus, Ohio.
Late in 1966, Pittsburgh traded Wood to the Chicago White Sox where his fortunes would be dramatically reversed. It was in Chicago that Wood had the good fortune to be acquainted with future Hall of Fame knuckleball pitcher Hoyt Wilhelm. Although Wood had learned the pitch from his father who had pitched semipro baseball, it wasn't until Wilhelm became his mentor that he became comfortable and confident with the pitch.
Wood's breakout season came in 1968 when he appeared in then MLB record 88 games as a pitcher (86 of which came in relief) posting a 1.87 ERA in 159 innings pitched. He would lead the AL in appearances again in both 1969 and in 1970 with 76 and 77, respectively.
In 1971, the White Sox would hire Johnny Sain as their pitching coach. Three years earlier, Sain was the pitching coach on the 1968 Detroit Tigers which would win the World Series featuring a staff of 30-game winner Denny McLain and Mickey Lolich. However, Sain would clash with Tigers manager Mayo Smith, and he would be out of a job the following season. Sain had similar trouble with Minnesota Twins manager Sam Mele after the team won the AL pennant in 1965.
When Sain joined the Chisox, among his first decisions was to move Wood to the starting rotation. With the blessing of manager Chuck Tanner, Sain reasoned that a knuckleballer like Wood required fewer days of rest and could start more frequently. Over the next four seasons, often working on two days of rest, would enjoy 20 plus win campaigns.
Aside from these 20-win seasons, Wood would lead the AL in starts four times, wins and innings pitched twice and was named to three AL All-Star Teams. In 1971, Wood would finish third in AL Cy Young balloting behind Vida Blue and Mickey Lolich. In 1972, Wood would finish runner up in AL Cy Young balloting to future Hall of Famer Gaylord Perry. That season Wood pitched an astounding 376.2 innings. In 1973, despite losing 20 games against 24 wins, Wood still managed to finish fifth in AL Cy Young balloting. That year, Wood would win both ends of a doubleheader and lose both ends of a doubleheader.
For nine seasons, Wood was the White Sox's workhorse first out of the bullpen and then the starting rotation. This would come to an abrupt end during the 1976 season when Wood's kneecap was shattered on a line drive by Ron LeFlore of the Detroit Tigers. This would put Wood out of action for the rest of the year. Unfortunately, Wood was never the same pitcher after returning from the injury struggling with his control in both the 1977 and 1978 seasons.
In 17 MLB seasons, Wood made 651 appearances (297 of them as a starting pitcher) and went 164-156 with a 3.24 ERA striking out 1411 batters while walking only 724 over 2684 innings pitched. All but one of his wins came in a Chicago White Sox uniform making him one of the best pitchers in team history.
Wood's most significant baseball legacy was that he was the best left-handed knuckleball pitcher to wear a big-league uniform. R.I.P.
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