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Takes
9.8
@nick
3mo
One of the earliest memories I have of a performance being so unprecedented and actually understanding why. The rookie in just his 5th start. 20 strikeouts. TWENTY. ONE HIT. Kerry Wood was a bad ass I was a fan of his instantly. He was superhuman to 8 year old me. And he hit dingers too. A performance that will stand the test of time. Forever.
Saint Petersburg, FL
Highlights
6
0
9.4
@FlameRaptorRaven
3mo
There are 20 reasons why this is a great game. In a vacuum, ignoring stakes, Kerry Wood pitched the single greatest game in MLB history. There have been other 20-strikeout games, no-hitters and perfect games, but this is the only 20 K game that allowed 1 hit or less. Coming into this game, Kerry Wood had pitched in exactly 4 MLB games. That’s it. Kerry Wood’s MLB career before this game amounted to 4 games/starts, 18.1 innings pitched, 364 pitches thrown and a career ERA of 5.89. That was Wood’s entire career coming into this game. To be fair, Wood had been a top-5 prospect on Baseball America the last 2 years so everyone knew he had the talent, but he was also facing the Killer Bs. Houston had a deadly lineup that would go on to lead baseball in runs scored that included future hall of famers like Jeff Bagwell along with other good hitters having career years like Moises Alou. Bagwell and Alou struck out 3 times each. Every Astros hitter struck out at least once. Wood was invincible.
Highlights
3
0
8.7
@jacksauer2
3mo
I mean, just one of the greatest pitching performances ever. Kerry Wood. 20 strikeouts. Even rarer than a perfect game. While he wasn't the first, his was certainly the most memorable, even as a Red Sox fan when Clemens did it for us for the first one ever.
People act like Kerry Wood was just a one-hit wonder, had this one good game but otherwise was a no name, which couldn't be further from the truth. While he wasn't a superstar, he was a guy who consistently gave the Cubs sub-4 ERA pitching 6 of the 9 years he was on the team, and was never above 4.23 except for one year. But I think we get caught up too much in ERA and what it really means. If a pitcher has a 4 ERA, that means they allowed 4 runs every 9 innings. Imagine he pitched a complete game every single game of the season and allowed 4 runs every time. If you can't build a lineup good enough to make the playoffs with that, you are a bad baseball team. Sure, a 4 ERA pitcher isn't a superstar, but he's not as bad as you think
5
2
0