Kerry Wood made his major league debut on April 12, 1998 in Montreal against the Expos.
The first hitter he faced was Mark Grudzielanek, who would later become his teammate on the 2003 NL Central champion Cubs.
Kerry struck him out swinging on a 3-2 pitch. Wood lost that game, but four starts later... aw, you know what he did. We went over that in detail this morning.
This afternoon at Wrigley Field, Kerry Wood faced the White Sox' Dayan Viciedo in a game situation, with the Cubs trailing 3-2 and a runner on first base with one out. He struck him out swinging on three pitches, the final pitches he would throw in the major leagues all strikes. Then Jamie Quirk -- who was leading the team after Dale Sveum's ejection -- came out to replace him with James Russell.
Six years ago, when Greg Maddux left the field during a game which most everyone knew was likely his final game in a Cubs uniform, he left to a thunderous ovation. The cheers that accompanied Wood's walk to the dugout -- during which he hugged his teammates, picked up his son and waved his cap to the crowd -- felt more mournful, cheers for a great career that could have happened, but didn't due to injuries. If you as a Cubs fan weren't moved to tears during Wood's walk... well, let's just say that I was, and I don't think I
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