It’s hard for me to remember Cubs baseball before Kerry Wood.
Of course, I can if I try. There were the 1984 Cubs and the 1989 Cubs. There was a rail thin Sammy Sosa patrolling centerfield and Greg Maddux leaving Wrigley for the greener pastures of Turner Field. And then, for a long time there’s nothing much to remember. Until May 6, 1998.
That, as everyone knows, was the infamous 20-strikeout game that, more than anything, defined Kerry’s career. It was also the game that set him on the path of becoming the physical embodiment of the Cubs. Hope after hope after hope, year after year after year, followed by heart-wrenching devastation when he fell short of his goal. After a while, with post-season baseball so far out of reach, we just wanted to see him stay healthy. But that goal too often seemed as unattainable as winning the NL pennant. Season after season, we watched him try to come back. And fail.
And then came 2003. By then, we had accepted that Kerry Wood wasn’t the second-coming of Nolan Ryan. He was no longer the fire-balling teenager we’d to whom we’d entrusted all our hopes and dreams. He was older, wiser, and had seemed irretrievably broken only a season before. Yet that season we watched him grow from a chubby-faced phenom with peach-fuzz and acne to a veteran starter who stormed Atlanta with single-minded determination to force his team into the World Series. And he almost did.
2003 didn’t end the way any of us wanted, and, despite harboring a flickering hope that the post-season would serve as a springboard to a new beginning for Kerry, neither did his career. Perhaps that was what so many of us loved in Kerry. In him, we saw ourselves: life as grown up doesn’t always turn out the way we want it to. But no matter how many times Kerry got knocked down, he always go back up. And it encouraged the rest of us to do the same.
That’s why it was so jarring to hear Kerry say that he could not longer keep getting back up. That he could no longer “Keep answering the bell.” He had been knocked down too many times, he was emotionally and physically tired, he said. He knew he had far greater limitations than he’d ever had in his career, and he felt he was doing his teammates more harm than good being out there.
And so Kerry Wood, the fire-balling pitcher, passed out of our lives. And with him, a part of our youth. Those of us close in age to Kerry have begun to notice that we don’t bounce back quite as easily as we used to. We have nagging aches and pains that sometimes keep our bodies from doing what we want them to do. Whether it’s on the ball field or in the office, we’re no longer the fire-balling up-and-comers with their entire careers ahead of them. Perhaps seeing Kerry admit that to the world forces the rest of us to admit it to ourselves.
But even in leaving, Kerry managed to be the example for his generation one last time. He left on his own terms, before the indignity of being forced out of the game. He talked about all the things he was looking forward to, rather than regrets about what could have been. He laughed, rather than cried. He spoke of how grateful he was for what he had achieved, instead of bitterness for what had gotten away from him. In what had to be one of the most difficult days of his life, he focused on his family, his teammates, and, with his head held high and his son in his arms, he walked out of the game.
His way.
This. A thousand times this. Kerry embodies the Cubs and its fans as much as he embodies our younger selves. We can all learn something from him on this day.
excellent read. I feel much the same.
Kerry Wood is a stand-up guy. Classy. Not playing just for the money. Love of the Cubs and Chicago. I cried today over someone I’ve never met, but someone I truly admire. It’s sad to see him face his physical failings and realize he no longer has it in him. I hope there is a place for him in the organization and I wish him well. Thank you Kerry Wood!
Indeed.
Thanks, guys.
“Class” is the word that comes to mind when I think of Kerry Wood. I remember his rookie year when he hit a home run and the crowd wanted a curtain call. He wouldn’t do it because he didn’t want to show up the opposing pitcher, so Sammy Sosa took it for him. That’s when I really started liking Kerry Wood the man (and when I started having doubts about Sosa). I have his 20 strikeout game on DVD, and I watch it whenever I’m feeling down. Thanks for the memories, Kid K.
Well written as always, Julie. Thanks again, Kerry!!
There aren’t many words to describe Kerry Wood that would do him justice. He’s the epitome of what any MLB player should try to be. Loyal, classy, and down to earth. He had to have tons of courage to retire like that, and to admit to himself, his family, the media and his fans that he just didn’t have it in him anymore, and not to mention doing it with smiles and optimism on his opportunies to come. He persevered through so much during his MLB career, and I can honestly say I remember watching him strike out 20 batters in 1998. He didn’t dwell on what he could have been, he knew what he was capable of after a myriad of injuries and still kept at it. He’s a personal hero of mine, and I wish I could shake his hand. He may not have been as great as he could have been, but I still hope his flag flies at Wrigley one day, because he’s pretty much what the Cubs and their fans are all about.
Wonderful article, Julie – puts it all in nice perspective. Finally the door is closed on the Prior/Wood era. So much hope, so many injuries… Anyway, I hope Kerry Wood stays connected with the organization through coaching or the front office – he’s a class act.
I was able to listen to Kerry talk to the press after the game on the WGN post-game show this afternoon. After he was through, the guy hosting the show went on about how Kerry didn’t fulfill his potential and the injuries and the missed opportunities and the blah blah blah.
It rather pissed me off because I was hoping that for at least one day we could focus on what Kerry was able to give us, instead of what he couldn’t. Thanks for this piece, Julie. It as an appreciation of Kerry’s career that I needed to read tonight.
I’m sad I’ll never get to watch him strike out another batter. I’m glad that the last batter he faced he was able to strike out. Thanks for going out as Kid K, and not as Doug Jones, redux.
Very well done, Julie.
I got a little choked up watching him walk off the field. It’s one of those moments that I’m always going to remember. I graduated high school a few weeks after Kerry Wood threw his 20 strikeout game. I feel like I grew up with him. I’m going to miss him and I’m glad he got to go out on his terms.
One thing I always got out of Kerry Wood was the truth-not always what you wanted to hear, but still the truth. He did not get the World Series ring he so deserved,but will always be an MVP to me.I want him to do well whatever he does in or out of baseball, but most of all I want him to be happy. Too often, the media keeps shoving stories of ex-players in professional sports and they end up in trouble. I want this to go better than that..
I woke up this morning, read this and cried. So spot on about Kerry being the “physical embodiment of the Cubs.”
Glad he got to go out to a standing ovation, at home, on a high note.