He had quite a bit of hoopla leading up to his first game in Montreal, but ended up with the loss as another rookie, Brad Fullmer, stole the show. He got his first win in the Friendly Confines of beautiful Wrigley Field, and from that point on for the next 2 games, alternated, either pitching wonderfully or pitching very poorly. That is, until that fateful day of April 28, when the red hot Houston Astros came into town.
There was a 2 and 1/2 hour rain delay before the game. Wood didn't even expect to pitch,it was so bad. All of the sudden, Phil Regan, Cubs pitching coach told him to go out and start warming up. Kerry was shocked but did as he was told. He started out by fanning the "Killer B's", Biggio, Bell and Bagwell and was unstoppable from that point on. He only allowed 2 baserunners the whole game, Ricky Gutierrez got a cheap hit in the 3rd, and Craig Biggio moved into a pitch and got hit in the 6th. In the 9 innings he pitched, Wood tied the Major League record with 20 strikeouts. Only 1 pitcher has ever done that before, Roger Clemens, on 2 occasions. The most amazing thing is that it was only his 5th pro start ever, while Clemens was a veteran when he got his 2.
Well Kerry is now the frontrunner for National League Rookie of the Year and seems to be in no danger of slowing down. Since the 20K game he has only had one bad start, in Minnesota, and he was not at 100% since he was having a problem with a mouth lesion. So I will update with any future info on his starts
On this page I will have any info I can get my grubby little paws on about good ol' Kerry. I also plan to include his upcoming matchups and stats.
National League Player of the Week for May 11
National League Rookie of the Year, 1998
Kerry finished with a record of 13 wins and 6 losses. He had a 3.40 ERA in 166 innings.He was 7th in winning percentage with .684 percentage. He had the lowest oppositon batting average with a .196 average.
The "K" Korner! Finishing the season young Kerry was third in the Major Leagues in strikeouts with 133 !
What others are saying: Tiger AllStar second baseman, Damion Easly when asked about Kerry said this. "I think he is going to be an awesome pitcher. He will establish his own name and become a superstar. He's not afraid to come after you, he's completely relentless. His 95+ fastball and curveball are both excellent
Kerry got a cover story in the Beckett, with an exclusive interview. He basically said that he doesnt collect cards very much and that he tries to sign anything sent to him. When I get the chance I hope to type up the whole manuscript.
Heres a cool page about KerryOn September 1st Kerry broke a Chicago Cubs amrk for most strikeouts by a Cub rookie with 226, that broke the mark of 225 set in 1901 by Tom Hughes. Here's another great one!
See ya in the papers!