But it's that lone hit - a seemingly meaningless Ricky Gutierrez single in the top of the 3rd - that some Cubs fans still debate to this day. During his 13 seasons in the MLB, Wood was on the disabled list 14 times, including missing the entire season due to Tommy John Surgery. Wood also had problems with strained triceps, a torn rotator cuff and shoulder discomfort among several other injuries that plagued him throughout his entire career. Scott Servais had caught Wood's first four games, but this was a day game after a night game, so Sandy Martinez was catching.
Presumably he'd caught Wood before, in spring training. Certainly he'd at least warmed him up before. So how are four strikeouts in an inning possible? A batter with two strikes on him takes a swing at strike three; however, the catcher does not field the ball cleanly, and instead of tagging the runner out , the runner reaches.
The strikeout is recorded, but not the out. The highest game score for a nine-inning game in the history of baseball is Kerry Wood's one-hit, no walk, strikeout shutout performance for the Chicago Cubs against the Houston Astros on May 6, Wood was named the National League Rookie of the Year that season. Koufax's 14 strikeouts are tied with Matt Cain for the most ever thrown by a perfect game pitcher.
For the elections of through he received 7. But by the Bill James Game Score method, it was the best game ever pitched. Game Score rewards pitchers for strikeouts, and subtracts points for runs, hits and walks.
There have been just nine starts of nine innings in which a pitcher scored or better. Ryan twice , Johnson, Curt Schilling , Warren Spahn and Brandon Morrow scored ; Ryan with a strikeout, two-walk no-hitter and Sandy Koufax his strikeout perfect game scored We all know what happened after that. Wood threw across his body, causing an abrupt snap as his shoulder crashed into his chest, and analysts predicted that motion would eventually lead to an injury.
It didn't help that Cubs manager Jim Riggleman had Wood run up some high pitch counts that rookie season -- , , , , , eight games of plus in all. He missed the final month of the season with a sore elbow, but the Cubs brought him back to start a playoff game.
The following spring, his elbow gave out. Tommy John surgery. To his credit, Wood never blamed Riggleman. It was the way I was throwing, the stuff I had, the torque I was generating. It was a matter of time. Wood recovered and returned as a power pitcher, although his stuff was never quite as electric.
In , he made the All-Star team and led the National League in strikeouts. The Cubs won the division. Dusty Baker worked him hard that year. He threw pitches in a May victory against the Cardinals, in a shutout against the Marlins in July.
In his final six starts of the regular season, he threw , , , , and pitches. In Game 5 of the division series, Wood allowed one run in eight innings to beat the Braves in the series clincher. It was one of the great moments in Cubs history, getting them one round closer to the World Series, the unthinkable becoming believable. Game 6, the heartbreaker. But the Cubs still had Game 7 and Wood on the mound. I remember sitting at home alone that night, watching the game. I wasn't a Cubs fan but of course you were rooting for them, rooting for Wood, a reward for all the elbow pain, the surgery, the rehab he'd gone through over the years.
In the history of Major League Baseball, there have been five games where a pitcher has recorded 20 strikeouts in one outing. One of those belongs to former Chicago Cubs right-hander Kerry Wood, who accomplished that feat on this day, 23 years ago.
Wood was a rookie in that season and struggled for the most part in his first four outings where he posted a 5. On May 6, , Wood took his electric pitch arsenal to the mound against a loaded Astros team that would go on to win games and finish first in the NL Central that season. He allowed one hit while walking none and racking up 20 strikeouts on pitches in his complete game shutout. Wood would finish his season with a 3. Back then, Wood was in a rare class of hard-throwing pitchers with some ferocious velocity and movement.
He had the kind of nasty stuff those following the likes of Pitching Ninja and Baseball Savant drool over these days. His lifetime 3. As far as greatest games ever pitched, you could make the case a perfect game or a no-hitter is greater. There have been 23 perfect games and Baseball-Reference recognizes total no-hitters in MLB history. It takes a pitcher willing to attack the strike zone without fear of what the opposing hitters will do. The Tigers were the only team on the above mentioned list to finish with a winning record
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