Kerry Wood

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    Why the sudden interest in Kerry Wood? you may ask. Well, I first looked into him when I read a letter that he wrote to someone in the book Every Pitcher Tells a Story (a really good book that I suggest you read). It was then that I found that he was a very interesting player. The letter he wrote this guy was about a phone call he had gotten from Roger Clemens when he tied Rocket's record for strikeouts in a game with 20 (the record still stands, but now is also held by Max Scherzer). Anyway, I just looked him up on good old Baseball Reference and found some very interesting things about him.
    He won the Rookie of the Year award in 1998, throwing to a 13-6 record and 3.40 ERA. Wood held batters to only a .196 batting average that season. He struck out a league-leading 12.6 batters per nine, and holds a career K/9 of 10.3. Though he had really good strikeout numbers, punching out as many as 266 batters in a season, he had shaky control, walking about 4.3 batters per nine across his career, and leading the league in hit batters twice. 
    Wood also collected 63 saves and pitched the first 6 1/2 years of his career as a starter. He was also a good postseason pitcher, throwing to a 3.43 ERA in 44 2/3 innings pitched. 
    Wood's career regular season batting average was .171. However, in the playoffs he hit .273 and slugged .636! He went 3-for-11 with a double and home run, driving in 5 teammates. 
    And finally, Kerry Wood struck out the last batter he ever faced in the Majors. His career BAA is only .217, and opposing hitters only had a .678 OPS when facing him.
    And now for fun facts: 
    Interestingly enough, Kerry was the son of Garry and Terry. Their house must have had a draft because it was sure airy!
    He organized a bowling tournament for celebrities called 'Kerry Wood's Strike Zone.'
    
    
    Well, that's all I have to say about him. Nothing super special, but I found him an interesting guy, and especially thought his postseason performances to be both interesting and impressive. Thank you for reading.

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