We're Cards fans, so usually we enjoy basking in the misery of Cubs fans. But today, after reading a brilliant article in Play Magazine chronicling the rise and fall of former Cubs' phenom Kerry Wood, we feel no joy. What a sad, sad story. Sure, he's pocketed nearly $700,000 per start over the past three years, but Wood is no Roger Clemens. He's not a mercenary out to pocket as much cash as possible, no matter the personal ties or team loyalties he shreds in the process.
But whether we like it or not, professional athletes are meant to be sacrificed, not preserved. And the most fatal dagger-thrust of all has been fate’s. Wood threw the way he did because that was the way he had learned how to pitch. And he continued to throw that way because for a brief moment it made him the most exciting pitcher in baseball.
We were just 15 when Kerry Wood pitched one of the finest games we've ever watched, a one-hit, 20-strikeout gem against the Houston Astros, in 1998. We were so impressed we watched it three times. In that game, Wood's fastball was clocked at 102 MPH, and his combination curve/slider was slicing across the plate at a downward angle so devastating we're suprised anyone even managed a pop fly. We rooted against you in the playoffs in 1998 and 2003, Kerry, but we never wanted this for you. We apologize. We only hope you can forgive us.
My Right Arm [Play Magazine]
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