THE NEW YORK TIMES – Wilbur Wood, the Chicago White Sox knuckleballer who started more games and pitched more innings in a season than any pitcher in the last 100 years, died on Saturday in Burlington, Mass. He was 84.
His death, in a hospital, was confirmed by his wife, Janet.
Because he threw the knuckleball, which is thrown far slower than a major league fastball, there was less strain on his arm, and his managers could and did put him in the starting lineup again and again.
Wood, a left-hander, led the league in innings pitched twice and games started four times. In 1972, he threw 376⅔ innings, the most by any pitcher since 1917. He started 49 times that season, the most since 1908. Neither mark has been matched since.
In more recent times, even the most durable pitchers have not thrown more than 230 or so innings or started more than 35 games in a season.
Wood was not just an ironman pitcher, but also an accomplished one, tallying four 20-win seasons.
Wilbur Forrester Wood was born on Oct. 22, 1941, in Cambridge, Mass., the son of Wilbur Sr., who worked in wholesale food, and Svea (Swenson) Wood. In high school, he played quarterback on the football team and also played ice hockey, in addition to baseball.
The Boston Red Sox signed him in 1960, but he struggled to establish himself in the major leagues, and they released him in 1964. He spent a season as a reliever with the Pittsburgh Pirates before the White Sox acquired him.
Wood had thrown the knuckleball a bit when he was young, though as a professional he had pitched conventionally. The White Sox at the time had one of the greatest knuckleballers, Hoyt Wilhelm …
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WILBUR WOOD
Raised in Belmont, Massachusetts, Wood played several sports in high school and was signed by his hometown Boston Red Sox in 1960. He pitched sparingly for them over parts of four seasons before being traded to the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1964.
Seldom-used by the team in 1965, he spent all of 1966 in the minor leagues before being traded to the White Sox.
Wood, who had previously relied on a fastball and curveball, refined the knuckleball with the help of veteran knuckleball specialist Hoyt Wilhelm. He spent the next four seasons as a relief pitcher for Chicago. In 1968, he set a record (broken the next year) with 88 games pitched and was named the Sporting News American League (AL) Fireman of the Year.
The White Sox tried to trade Wood before the 1971 season, but an injury to starting pitcher Joe Horlen caused them to put him in the starting rotation. That season, pitching coach Johnny Sain suggested that Wood pitch with only two days’ rest between starts, since knuckleball specialists do not put as much stress on their arms as other pitchers.
Wood proceeded to lead the AL in games started from 1972 through 1975, starting a career-high 49 games in 1972. That season, he also recorded a career-high 376+2⁄3 innings pitched (IP), breaking the live-ball era record of 376 IP set by Mickey Lolich of the Detroit Tigers just one season prior.
He won 20 or more games for four consecutive seasons, leading the AL in 1972 and 1973 with 24 wins. In 1973, Wood also matched the 1916 record of Walter Johnson of a pitcher to win and lose 20 or more games in a season. Wood was an All-Star in 1971, 1972, and 1974.
After making 43 starts in 1975, Wood made only seven in 1976. A line drive off the bat of Ron LeFlore fractured Wood’s kneecap in a game against the Detroit Tigers. Despite months of rehabilitation, Wood was “gun-shy” upon his return in 1977 and posted the worst earned run average among qualifying AL pitchers in 1978 (5.20). He retired after the season.
Wood’s 90 wins from 1971–74 were the most by a major league pitcher during that span. A lifelong New England resident, Wood held a number of jobs in the Boston area after his retirement from baseball …
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