Farewell, Kid K

Despite a multitude of injuries that transformed him from a starter to a reliever way back in 2007, Kerry Wood has had a solid Major League Baseball career.  While he never lived up to the hype that surrounded him when he broke into the league as a 21 year old rookie in 1998, he did have flashes of brilliance.  His 20 strikeout game as a rookie is his most famous accomplishment (and I would argue is the greatest game every pitched), of course, but there were others: his two wins over Atlanta in the 2003 NLDC that pushed the Cubbies into the League Championship Series and his surprising 34 save season in 2007, to name two.  For his career, Wood is one of only three pitchers (along with Randy Johnson and Pedro Martinez) to average better than 10.0 strikeouts per nine innings with a minimum to 1,000 career innings pitched, and has always been a fan favorite in Chicago.  With his career winding down, he has earned his one last moment in the spotlight.

Wood's 20 strikeout game was one of the best anyone has ever pitched.

That's why I think Wood's recent announcement regarding his retirement plans is awesome: in short, "Wood will retire after his next outing, which could come as soon as Friday."  Just as every kid, including the ones that grow up to be Major Leaguers, dreams about hitting a game winning homerun or ending a game with a strikeout, Wood has a dream for what he wants his MLB career to look like.  After 14 seasons, the Cubs reliever wants his final appearance on a baseball mound to be special, and I'm sure he wants to savor every last moment of it - how it feels to grip the baseball, how the crowd reacts to a strikeout, how the grass and the dirt smell.  By announcing that his next appearance will be his last, Wood can ensure that he and the fans make the most out of his final pitching appearance, and he can leave the game without regrets about not having gone out the right way.

The announcement makes a lot of sense for the Cubs in addition to Wood.  With the team scheduled to start a three-game series at home against the crosstown White Sox tonight, the team can ensure that Wood's final MLB appearance will come at Wrigley Field (assuming they want to use him this weekend) and that the hometown fans can give him a proper send off.  After that, the team will embark on a week-long road trip, before which it can call up a replacement pitcher from the minors, begin to realign its bullpen rotation and continue to work on improving its 15-23 record.  While the Cubs fans don't know much about winning, they do know a lot about history and will undoubtedly appreciate the opportunity to see Kerry Wood pitch one more time.  With a notice in advance that his next appearance will be his last, Wood can ensure that his fans, teammates and bosses give him the exit that he deserves.

At the same time, I respect how Wood refrained from forcing the Cubs to do something overly "special" for him.  He didn't ask for one more chance to start.  He didn't even ask for one more chance to close a game.  All he did was give some advance notice that his next relief appearance - whenever it comes - will be his last time on a mound.  The Cubs coaches have the opportunity to use him however they'd like (ideally in a non-critical situation, since he's posting a 8.64 ERA and a 2.28 WHIP this season) and then can move on with their regularly scheduled (and seemingly never-ending) rebuilding process.  As someone who's enjoyed watching Kerry Woody pitch over the last decade and a half, I'm glad that he's giving us all this heads up.  Without it, I might have missed and failed to appreciate the last appearance of one of the most exciting hurlers of our time.  Thanks for the memories, "Kid K."