Chicago Cubs

CHICAGO -- Mark Grace played more than 2,200 Major League games during his 16-year career.

Kerry Wood's 20-strikeout, one-hit shutout of the Astros on May 6, 1998, at Wrigley Field is right near the top of the list.

"It's the best performance I ever played behind. I never played behind a no-hitter or a perfect game," Grace said. "The final score of that game was 2-0. It was the biggest 2-0 blowout in the history of baseball. "You just knew there was no way the Houston Astros were going to score a run. That wasn't a [bad] lineup he did that to, too. It was [Craig] Biggio, [Jeff] Bagwell, Derek Bell, Moises Alou -- those really good Astros teams that could rake."

On that day, Wood was a 21-year-old flame-throwing phenom, the latest big, strong right-hander from the state of Texas with his whole career ahead of him.

On Friday, that career ended, as Wood completed his 14-year Major League career in the Cubs' 3-2 loss to the White Sox at Wrigley Field.

"It's time -- it was time," Wood said. "We saw how things were going this year, and not being able to recover and bounce back and do my job, essentially, and do what I was supposed to do, day in and day out. The grind of getting ready every day and go through hours to get ready for 15 pitches and not be successful, it was just time. It's time to give somebody else a chance."

Wood's career more-or-less began with that historic 20-strikeout gem. When he was on, like on that May afternoon and so many other times throughout his career, he was one of the best pitchers in the game.

"Great pitcher and one of the great guys," Brewers third baseman and former teammate Aramis Ramirez said. "When healthy, he was one of the toughest pitchers in the game. The numbers back that up."

"He wasn't fun to face. He was, stuff-wise, as good as it gets," former teammate Austin Kearns said. "And effectively wild too. He was as good as it was when you talk about stuff."

Wood began his career in 1998 as a promising young starter. He ended it Friday as a reliever, starting off White Sox outfielder Dayan Viciedo with a 96-mph fastball and tossing his final pitch, a curveball in the dirt, to get Viciedo swinging to cap his career with one last strikeout.

"To let him go out that way, he deserves it. He's been a good pitcher here in the city for a long time," White Sox manager Robin Ventura said. "Everybody should be able to go out ... not everybody gets to ... but it was nice he gets to go out like that."

In between, there was an 86-75 record, 3.61 ERA, 1,582 strikeouts in 446 games and numerous injuries that no doubt robbed Wood of a chance to become one of the premier pitchers in the game's history.

"Tremendous stuff. Overpowering stuff. Dominant stuff," Yankees manager and former Cubs catcher Joe Girardi said. "Most every day he went out there, especially before he had the arm surgery, he had no-hit stuff."

Wood underwent Tommy John surgery in 1999. Six years later, he underwent another arm surgery and in 2005 had surgery on his knee before partially tearing his rotator cuff later in the season.

In all, Wood was placed on the disabled list 16 times in his career.

"The only thing with Woody -- you wish, 'What might have been had that incredibly gifted right arm not gotten hurt so much?'" Grace said.

Although his body couldn't hold up through the rigors of being a starting pitcher, Wood continued his career out of the bullpen, where he was just as successful. He was an All-Star as a starter in 2003 and was again named to the All-Star squad as a reliever in 2008, when he notched 34 saves.

Wood spent the rest of his career pitching in late-inning situations and, in his only two seasons away from Chicago -- in Cleveland (2009-10) and New York (2010) -- he helped the Yankees to the 2010 American League Championship Series.

"He did a tremendous job for us," Girardi said. "He gave our bullpen a huge boost when he got here and pitched extremely well for us."

After his time away from the Cubs, Wood returned to Chicago in 2011, giving the club a hometown discount with a one-year, $1.5 million contract. He signed another one-year deal prior to this season.

"For what he's done for that organization. He was gone and he came back. It was a good legacy he left behind," said Marlins pitcher Mark Buehrle, who spent 12 seasons with the White Sox. "He did everything. He took less money to come back, knowing he wanted to play in Chicago, knowing that's where his heart was."

Reds manager Dusty Baker, who managed the Cubs from 2003-06, said the Reds tried to sign Wood that offseason. Instead, Wood went home.

"He loved Chicago and Chicago loves him. He wanted to retire in Chicago," Baker said. "I thought it would be the end of the year. When the time calls, it's time to go."

A big part of Wood's time in Chicago the last two seasons was mentoring young members of the Cubs' bullpen, such as left-hander James Russell and right-hander Jeff Samardzija -- who moved to the rotation this year. Those two were just the latest examples of Wood embracing his veteran leadership role.

Wood's time in Cleveland didn't go as smoothly as he had hoped, but Chris Perez -- who was groomed as Wood's successor -- said Wood was a valuable teammate.

"It didn't matter how he was pitching or what he did that night, he was always a good teammate, which is important in this game because you're not always going to be doing your best," Perez said. "When that happens, good teammates seem to stick around. I just learned how to be a professional."

Because of his numerous surgeries and time spent rehabbing, Wood was an obvious go-to guy when others suffered the same fate. Red Sox left-hander Rich Hill, who came up with the Cubs, had Tommy John surgery last season. Hill said Wood was the first person he called after he suffered his injury and described Wood as "a really positive guy and great teammate."

"He's done so many great things in Chicago and the people love him there. He's had a long career," Hill said. "With everything that he helped me with as far as even leading by example and, you know, being a professional. For me, I have nothing but good things to say."

Hill's thoughts are shared by Wood's other teammates.

"He was one of my favorite teammates. I had a lot of them, but Kerry was a guy that I hung out with a lot, spent a lot of time with," Grace said. "I attended his wedding in Hawaii. He's a guy that will always be special to me."

Said Ramirez, who added Wood told him last weekend when the Cubs were in Milwaukee that his arm wasn't 100 percent: "You can't find a better teammate."

Wood even impressed those who, uniform-wise, were his biggest rivals.

Marlins manager Ozzie Guillen, who managed the White Sox from 2004-11, said he watched Wood's final game Friday and was glad the crowd of 34,937 at Wrigley Field gave him a standing ovation upon his exit.

"Tremendous man. Great human being. Great pitcher. Very touching moment out there," Guillen said. "I was watching the game. Very classy people in Chicago, giving him a standing ovation. They appreciate what he did for the Cubs, and baseball, period. He's a class act."

White Sox catcher A.J. Pierzynski said Wood was not only good for the city of Chicago, but for all of baseball.

"I love Kerry Wood," Pierzynski said. "Classy guy, a guy I got to know over the last few years, playing against him, being around him. ...

"It's kind of poetic justice that he struck out the last guy he faces."

Dempster fires eight frames of shutout ball

CHICAGO -- James Russell grew up in Texas, so the Cubs left-hander knows all about its rich history of producing big, strong pitchers.

He also knows the state's two favorite sons.

"Growing up in Texas, that's all you hear about is Nolan Ryan and Kerry Wood," Russell said. "Always. That's who you grew up watching, who you wanted to be like and that's who all the kids playing wiffle ball would act like."

Wood's legacy will live on, but the Irving, Texas, native's career is over.

The Cubs right-hander appeared in his final Major League game Friday, entering in the eighth inning and striking out White Sox outfielder Dayan Viciedo with a curveball in the dirt to cap his 14-year career.

Wood walked off Wrigley Field for the final time as the crowd of 34,937 chanted his name and gave him a standing ovation in the Cubs' 3-2 loss to the White Sox.

Friday marked the end of an era in Cubs baseball, which began when the club selected Wood out of Grand Prairie High School with the fourth overall pick in the 1995 First-Year Player Draft. Three years later, he exploded onto the scene as a 21-year-old phenom, striking out 20 Astros on May 6, 1998, and Wood was synonymous with the Cubs for most of his 14-year career. Twelve of Wood's 14 seasons were spent in Chicago, along with stops in Cleveland (2009-10) and New York (2010).

After Thursday's game against the Phillies, Wood spoke with manager Dale Sveum about his desire to retire after pitching one more game. Sveum said Wood previously brought up retirement a couple weeks earlier, but he felt Friday that it was time.

"Yesterday I knew it was a lot different than the first day he talked to me about it," Sveum said. "It's just that time. We all come to it."

Wood finished his career with an 86-75 record, 3.61 ERA and 1,582 strikeouts in 446 games.

"He had an awesome career, he's done so much in baseball," Cubs outfielder David DeJesus said. "It's unfortunate that we came out with the loss, but it was awesome to see him go out there and strike a guy out and get a big [ovation], because he deserves it."

Although Cubs right-hander Jeff Samardzija didn't grow up in Texas like Russell, he's proof of Wood's popularity during his height with the team. Born in Merrillville, Ind., Samardzija recalled a time his father read a story about how Wood worked out in the pool, which, of course, helped explain his 98-mph heater.

The next day, Samardzija was in the pool kicking around floaties.

"For a kid growing up in the Midwest, that's what Kerry was to us kids when we were coming up," Samardzija said. "That's the dude you wanted to be, that's how you wanted to throw -- you wanted to throw hard, you wanted to throw a big curveball."

When Wood returned to the Cubs prior to the 2011 season after giving the club a hometown discount, he became a mentor to young pitchers like Russell, Samardzija and others. That is among many of the reasons he'll be missed.

"It's a tough day, man. It's not a good day when Kerry Wood retires," Samardzija said "We'll remember all the things that he did great and all the great things he did for this city."

While Samardzija spent Friday afternoon on the mound as the Cubs' starting pitcher, Russell was in the bullpen with Wood. Russell was warming up alongside Wood during the eighth inning and replaced him after the right-hander struck out Viciedo. Russell and Wood also were close away from the ballpark, going fishing and hanging out off the field.

Russell -- who admitted he got a bit choked up when Wood's son, Justin, met his father on the field after Wood was removed -- said those are memories he'll carry forever.

"It's tough to see a guy go like that, and I fought like hell to try to make him stay," Russell said. "He's had a great career and he's got nothing but the utmost respect from all of us."

CHICAGO -- Kid K has retired.

Kerry Wood, who burst onto the scene in 1998 with the Cubs, pitching a 20-strikeout game in his fifth Major League start, threw three pitches on Friday for career strikeout No. 1,582, which was his last. He announced his retirement after the Cubs' 3-2 loss to the White Sox.

"It's time -- it was time," Wood said. "We saw how things were going this year, and not being able to recover and bounce back and do my job, essentially, and do what I was supposed to do day in and day out. The grind of getting ready every day and go through hours to get ready for 15 pitches and not be successful, it was just time. It's time to give somebody else a chance."

There was no pregame announcement about Wood's future. Instead, Cubs manager Dale Sveum said the right-hander was available out of the bullpen.

"It's one of those things where you know," Sveum said. "It's the most difficult thing you ever have to deal with. Everybody has to do it. It's a time in your life where you make that decision."

Wood and his son, Justin, enjoyed the day. The two chased balls during batting practice, and even climbed into the center-field scoreboard prior to the Cubs' Interleague game against the White Sox. Wood took out the lineup card, and when he went to the bullpen, he hugged and high-fived his teammates. Then he took his seat.

Wood had talked to Sveum about retiring in the last couple weeks, but he made it clear on Thursday this was it.

"Yesterday, I knew it was a lot different than the first day he talked to me about it," Sveum said. "We talked for a long time about a lot of things. I don't think talking him out of it yesterday was right for me to do. ... There comes a time. It's unfortunate, because you'll never get it back. You'll miss the adrenaline."

Wood had plenty pumping through him when he took the mound in the eighth, replacing Jeff Samardzija and the Cubs trailing.

"I said, 'You better throw it at 80 percent, because you'll be throwing it out of your [backside]," Cubs reliever James Russell said.

Wood fired a 96-mph fastball at Dayan Viciedo, who fouled it off. Viciedo fouled off the next pitch, a curveball, and then swung and missed at a 78-mph curve. It's been a long time and 16 stints on the disabled list since Wood struck out Mark Grudzielanek, the first batter he faced in his Major League debut on April 12, 1998, in the first inning, but he felt the same rush.

"I told [Russell] before I went out, 'I feel like I'm getting ready to go pitch my first inning,'" Wood said. "The adrenaline was the same, the nerves were the same."

Viciedo had no chance. As Wood left the field, he was surprised at the top of the dugout steps by Justin, who gave him a hug. Wood tipped his cap to the fans, then hugged his teammates in the dugout. He made one more curtain call.

Wood, 34, wanted to leave on his own terms. He finishes with an 86-75 career record and a 3.67 ERA in 446 games, including 178 starts. A two-time All-Star, he ranks third with the Cubs in strikeouts behind Hall of Famer Fergie Jenkins and Carlos Zambrano, and he's the only one to reach the postseason with the team four times (1998, 2003, '07 and '08). He was the fastest pitcher to reach 1,000 strikeouts in both games (134) and innings pitched (853).

How long have the Cubs had to prepare for this?

"Probably 24 hours, I guess," Sveum said. "How do you prepare for it? You don't prepare for anything like this."

It's been rough for the Cubs' bullpen, which has the worst record in the National League. Wood already had spent time on the disabled list this season with right shoulder fatigue.

"[My arm] wasn't bouncing back this year," Wood said. "I felt I was putting guys in the 'pen in situations that they didn't need to be put in, putting Dale in situations where his hands were tied using me. I didn't want to go out with my last inning being me throwing my glove in the seats. I wanted to put up a zero and at least get one guy out."

On May 8 against the Braves, he entered in the eighth with the game tied at 1, and walked two batters and gave up two hits, including a game-winning two-run single by Dan Uggla. As he left the field, Wood threw his glove and cap into the stands in frustration.

The emotions were different on Friday.

"These fans have seen me and started reading about me when I was 17 and got drafted," Wood said. "Half of my life to this point has been in this uniform. I've been blessed, and the fans have supported me through all the injuries."

Wood was the Cubs' No. 1 Draft pick in 1995 and was a starter until arm injuries forced him to switch to relief. He was the Cubs' closer in 2008, totaling 34 saves. He finishes with 1,582 strikeouts, including 20 on May 6, 1998, in his fifth big league start. In that game, Wood gave up one hit and went the distance in a 2-0 win over the Astros. The 20 strikeouts still stands as a National Leauge and rookie record.

"To come on the scene and set the expectations and the bar where he did and to play 15 years after that and to battle through some really tough times and things like that, it's pretty impressive what he's been able to do," teammate Ryan Dempster said. "It's going to be tough not seeing him pitching."

Wood has spent all but two years with the Cubs, pitching for the Indians in 2009 and then the Tribe and Yankees in '10. He returned to Chicago in '11 when he gave the Cubs a hometown discount, signing for $1.5 million. Last January, he signed a one-year, $3 million deal to stay in Chicago.

What will he do next?

"I've played baseball for 30 years and done it professionally for 19 seasons," Wood said. "It's the one thing I know how to do, and now it's over. We'll find something."

The aches and pains were just too much for him to overcome.

"He'll definitely be missed," Dempster said. "The city of Chicago and Cubs fans loved him and rightfully so. When they feel that way about somebody, it's for the right reasons. He was a great teammate, a great friend and a great human."

Not many players get to chose when to leave the game.

"I had fun, I had a blast," Wood said. "I wouldn't trade anything in."

By Carrie Muskat / MLB.com | 05/18/12 8:17 PM ET

CHICAGO -- In an interview in February for the Cubs' Vineline magazine, Kerry Wood was asked to list his top five moments.

1. On May 6, 1998, in his fifth big league start, Wood struck out 20 Astros and gave up one hit in a complete-game, 2-0 win at Wrigley Field. The 20 Ks tied the Major League record for the most strikeouts in a nine-inning game, which Roger Clemens had accomplished twice. Wood's feat is a National League record and a record for most strikeouts by a rookie.

2. Wood beat the Braves twice in the 2003 National League Division Series, winning Game 1 and the deciding Game 5. He became the first Cubs pitcher to pick up a pair of wins in a postseason series since Hank Borowy did so in the 1945 World Series.

3. In the 1998 NLDS, the Cubs trailed 0-2 in the best-of-five series against the Braves. Wood was matched up against Greg Maddux in Game 3, and Atlanta won, 6-2. "I know it was a loss, but I remember that game because it was me against Maddux," Wood said.

4. The Cubs were swept in the 2007 NLDS by the D-backs, but Wood said the series was one he won't forgot. He began that year on the disabled list with right shoulder tendinitis and had considered retirement because he was tired of battling injuries. He made his season debut Aug. 5, his first big league outing in 14 months, and was able to pitch in two games in the postseason.

5. The 2008 season was Wood's first as a closer, and he made the All-Star Game, which was the last one played at old Yankee Stadium. The right-hander was 24-for-29 in save opportunities in the first half.