It seems more and more these days one can turn to the sports section of the newspaper on any given morning, or tune in to SportsCenter at any time and be assaulted by stories highlighting professional athletes, baseball players in particular, engaging in behaviors that are not only egregious and loathsome but unfortunate fodder for self righteous pundits and cynics alike—angry critics who claim that sports and their lionized idols are nothing more than a blight on our culture and embody an egocentric, selfish entitlement that threatens to fray the very fabric of all that we as an enlightened society ...
I remember the Detroit Tigers vs. Chicago Cubs interleague baseball game in 1998 like it were yesterday. It was June 25. And my friends and I had recently graduated high school at Southgate Anderson High School in suburban Detroit. This was the second full season that Major League Baseball had implemented interleague play. While I was always excited to attend a Tiger game, watching my home team play the Cubs made for an even more fun night.Five summers before, my father took me to my first Cubs game at Wrigley Field. I watched in horror as Orlando Merced of the ...
After a disappointing career that was full of such potential, Chicago Cubs pitcher Kerry Wood has decided to retire.It's a sad end to a pitcher who dazzled Major League Baseball after his fifth career start where he struck out 20 batters and threw a one-hitter against the Houston Astros in 1998.It was the highlight of a young career destroyed by numerous injuries. During his 13 seasons in the MLB, Wood was on the disabled list 14 times, including missing the entire 1999 season due to Tommy John Surgery.Wood also had problems with strained triceps, a torn rotator cuff and shoulder ...
Sadly, the could-have-been storybook career of Kerry Wood has come to an end.
It concluded the exact opposite way it began.
We all remember his phenomenal 20-strikeout game against the Houston Astros and the Killer B’s. He displayed a right arm that rightfully earned him the moniker of the next Roger Clemens, a right arm that was supposed to have pitched the Cubs deep into the playoffs.
Regretfully, it never came to be. After missing the last month of the 1998 season, he pitched in only one playoff game against the Atlanta Braves, in which he lost the game and the Cubs lost ...
As Cubs fans, whether we are hoping to defy the odds and win early—or, like me, want to see Theo Epstein's plan mature to fruition—we all want what's best for the team we bleed Cubs blue for. Recognizing that, we all agree that two of the more immediate pieces to the puzzle are Cubs prospects Brett Jackson and Anthony Rizzo. With that in mind, I set out to talk to colleagues and even some scouts in the Cubs organization. They told me that they would not be surprised to see Rizzo called up before Jackson, but that neither will likely ...
Chicago Cubs reliever Kerry Wood will retire on Friday, according to Bruce Levine of ESPNChicago.com.At 34 years old, Wood was not having much success out of the bullpen this season. Much of it was because of his battle with a few injuries, but his 0-2 record and 8.64 ERA leave much to be desired.Wood came up to the majors in 1998 and dominated, winning the NL Rookie of the Year award.He missed the entire 1999 season due to injury, and would only start 30-plus games twice (in 2002 and 2003) with the Cubs.He became a closer for the team in ...
UPDATE: Cubs reliever Kerry Wood entered the eighth inning today in a game the Cubs were losing 3-2 vs. the White Sox. In what was expected to be his final career outing, Wood struck out Dayan Viciedo on three pitches and was immediately taken out where he was greeted by his young son and a standing ovation by the Wrigley Crowd. In a surprise move, Chicago Cubs pitcher Kerry Wood is going to announce his retirement from Major League Baseball on Friday, according to Bruce Levine of ESPN Chicago.
Breaking news Kerry Wood will retire today !— Bruce Levine (@ESPNBruceLevine) May 18, ...
There are some things in Major League Baseball that simply are just astounding.From some of the bizarre unwritten rules about where not to walk on the field, to the outlandish contracts given to players who fail 70 percent of the time, baseball doesn't always make sense.We are in a fortunate year for the sport, where we are seeing the emergence of some of the most talented players in some time coming into the big leagues and succeeding, as fans bear witness to the talents of Bryce Harper and Mike Trout.It makes you wonder sometimes, how players can just simply disappear from the ...
Major league baseball isn't as formulaic as other major American sports leagues like the NBA or NFL, as star players can show up at any time, no matter what their age.So could be the case for the Chicago Cubs first baseman Bryan LaHair, who could follow a path to success similar to the one Toronto Blue Jays outfielder Jose Bautista has taken.Bautista, now 31, didn't really become much of a force in the league until he was 29 years old. Before the 2010 season, there just wasn't much to say about him because there wasn't much of him.He had played for ...
I like Bryan LaHair and would not mind if the Cubs decided to keep him. But would the Cubs deciding to keep him delay Anthony Rizzo’s call-up?I believe, yes. A prospect like Rizzo deserves to play every day, not sparingly.We all know when Rizzo is called up he will be the Cubs' first baseman. That leaves LaHair as the odd man out– or the even man out since he would be option No. 2 of 2.If both Rizzo and LaHair are on the big league roster together, then one of them will have to change positions. That would most likely be ...
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