Chicago Cubs: Kerry Wood’s 20-strikeout game
By Manny Gómez
22 years ago, Chicago Cubs starter Kerry Wood struck out 20 batters en route to a complete game 2-0 victory against the Houston Astros.
22 years ago, on May 6, 1998, Chicago Cubs rookie Kerry Wood took the mound against the Houston Astros. At that point in the season, Wood had established himself as strikeout machine, having racked up 25 K in 18.1 IP which is good for a 12.4 K/9.
It was only his 5th career MLB start and he was getting ready to face his toughest opponent yet; an Astros team that featured the likes of Craig Biggio, Jeff Bagwell, and Moises Alou to name a few players.
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To everyone’s surprise, the 21-year-old kid out of Irving, Texas struck out the side in the bottom of the first inning; Biggio went down swinging in five pitches, Derek Bell went down swinging in four, and Bagwell was caught looking at the fifth pitch of the at-bat. At this point, it was clear that Wood was in the zone.
However, no one could have ever imagined what the results of the game would yield. When it was all said and done, Wood finished the game with a pitch count of 122 pitches, 84 of them strikes. His stat line:
W (3-2) | 9 IP | 1 H | 0 R | 0 ER | 20 SO
It would be the first time since Roger Clemens – 2x – did it in 1996 against the Detroit Tigers that a pitcher struck out 20 batters in a 9-inning game. Since Wood’s performance, only Max Scherzer has struck out 20 batters in nine innings. He did on May 11, 2016, also against the Tigers.
Kerry Wood would go on to lead the league with 12.6 SO/9 in 1998 and be awarded the NL Rookie of the Year award. He would miss all of 1999 after undergoing Tommy John surgery.
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Though he never returned to prominence after his rookie season, Wood eventually helped the New York Yankees obtain their 27th World Series in 2009 by appearing in 24 games out of the bullpen and featuring an 0.69 ERA and striking out 31 batters in 26 IP.