On CSN-Chicago last night, the sports panel continued to fawn over Kerry Wood and his 20 strikeout performance against the Astros. It was early in Wood's career, and showed the Cub nation his potential. Potential that would quickly fade to a broken career.
The panel said Wood's 20k performance was "the greatest game ever." That is an insane and delusional comment. The hero worship of Wood has gotten out of hand. It may be a fond memory for some people, but it does not rank as the greatest game ever. It is not even close.
What about the 21 no-hitters pitched in the majors?
Or the greatest feat in history of the game on its biggest stage: the most famous perfect game in baseball history belongs to Don Larsen of the New York Yankees.
The only perfect game in World Series history, Larsen’s came on October
8, 1956 during Game 5 of the series. He struck out seven Brooklyn
Dodgers and only allowed one 3-ball count (and that came in the first
inning).
In all, Larsen only needed 97 pitches to dispatch the 27 Dodgers who stepped to the plate.
Or what about what “Red” Barrett of the Boston Braves accomplished on August 10, 1944.
Barrett pitched a complete game, 2-hitter against the Cincinnati Reds – and only needed 58 pitches to do it.
He walked and struck out nobody. The game took only one hour and fifteen minutes.
Or what about baseball's golden era's best pitcher, Sandy Koufax? He threw four no-hitters, second only to Nolan Ryan’s 7, but his perfect game on September 9, 1965 was his finest. Koufax struck out 14 Chicago Cubs, the most strikeouts ever recorded in a perfect game.
Or what about the greatest "loss" ever by a
pitcher?
On May 26, 1959, Pittsburgh Pirates starter Harvey Haddix retired 36
straight Milwaukee Braves, only to eventually lose the game.
In one of the most amazing games in baseball history, Haddix dazzled for
12 straight innings, allowing not a single base runner. The problem was
his team was struggling on their own against Braves starter Lew
Burdette. They had managed 12 hits in the game, but Burdette scattered
them and didn’t allow a run.
In the 13th inning, Haddix allowed the leadoff hitter to reach on an
error, ending his bid for perfection. The next hitter sacrificed, and
then Haddix intentionally walked Hank Aaron. Next, Joe Adcock hit what
looked like a home run, but it was ruled a double when Adcock passed
Aaron rounding the bases.
Haddix lost the no-hitter, shutout, and game 1-0.
There are hundreds of other examples of great pitching performances throughout the history of baseball. Wood's 20k outing is a footnote. It does not compare to the historical or unique game examples cited above. Sports fans tend to dwell on the silver lining moments in dreadful losing seasons. The Cubs have been losers so long that now they tend to worship their own losers. Wood should have been better, but in typical Cub fashion, his career crashed and burned by injury. Sports fans now gravitate toward Wood because he is a nice guy - - - who finished last.
Wood was 86-75 in his 14 year career. He had 63 saves. His career ERA was 3.67 and 1.267 WHIP. He is not a Hall of Fame candidate. He was not the best pitcher in his era. The last time he had a season WAR over 2.0 was 2005. He was supposed to be the next Nolan Ryan.
But Ryan lasted 27 years in the majors. He compiled a 324-292 record. His career ERA was 3.19 and 1.247 WHIP. Ryan is a Hall of Fame pitcher for a reason.
Cub fans need some perspective on Kerry Wood.
