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Wilbur Wood tosses up a knuckleball to home plate

Wilbur Forrester Wood, Jr. (born October 22, 1941 in Cambridge, Massachusetts) is a former knuckleball pitcher in Major League Baseball for the Boston Red Sox, Pittsburgh Pirates, and most notably the Chicago White Sox, where he got 163 of his 164 wins. He threw left-handed, but batted right-handed.

In 1960, Wood was signed out of a Massachusetts high school by the Red Sox. He pitched on-and-off for them for a few seasons before being traded to the Pirates in late September 1964. After two seasons with Pittsburg, he was traded to the White Sox after the 1966 season. When he arrived, knuckleball master Hoyt Wilhelm advised him to use his knuckleball exclusively. Taking Wilhelm's advice, Wood's career took off, first as a reliever, and then as a starter.

Wood almost won the Cy Young Award in 1972, but lost in an incredibly tight vote to Gaylord Perry. He had a record of 24-17 on the year, with a 2.51 ERA and 193 strikeouts in 376 2/3 innings pitched. Both his ERA and strikeout numbers were not career highs, however. The year before, Wood had compiled 210 strikeouts and a 1.91 ERA in 334 innings.

In a 17-season career, Wood compiled a 164-156 record with a 3.24 ERA. He had 1411 strikeouts in 2684 innings pitched. He also compiled 24 shutouts and 114 complete games in 297 games started. He pitched in 651 games.

Wood is best known for being one of the last pitchers to consistently start over 45 games and throw over 300 innings in a season, doing this deep into the 1970s. Each year from 1972 through 1975, he started more games than any American League pitcher. Wood led the league in innings pitched and in wins in 1972 and 1973. He was also one of the last pitchers to win and lose 20 games in a season (24-20 in 1973).

Wood's rubber arm, attributed to the relative ease of throwing a knuckleball, led to some unusual feats of endurance. On May 26, 1973, while pitching for the Chicago White Sox, Wood pitched five innings of two hit ball and earned the victory in a 21-inning suspended game against the Cleveland Indians. Then on the 28th, with only two days rest, he pitched a four hit complete game shutout against the same Indians. Later that season, on July 20, Wood started both ends of a doubleheader, making him the last pitcher to do so. He lost both of those games.

Wood was pitching for the White Sox in a game against the Detroit Tigers in Tiger Stadium, May 9, 1976, when Ron LeFlore, the Tigers' center fielder, hit a vicious line drive back toward the mound. The ball struck Wood's left knee forcibly, shattering his kneecap. He had surgery the next day, but the outlook was bleak. Many predicted that he would never pitch again, but after considerable rehabilitation, he did some pitching for two more seasons with the White Sox. Unfortunately, in spite of a courageous effort, he showed few signs of his former mastery. He retired in 1978, moving back to his native New England to enjoy fishing, his fondest pastime.

• In a 6-1 loss to the California Angels, on September 10, 1977, Wood hit three consecutive batters in the first inning, tying a record set by Dock Ellis. C.J. Nitkowski later accomplished the same feat in 1998.

==Highligh

• 3-time All-Star (1971, '72, '74)
• American League The Sporting News Pitcher of the Year Award winner in 1972
• American League The Sporting News Reliever of the Year Award winner in 1968
• Led the league in wins twice (1972, '73)
• Led the league in games started four times (1972, '73, '74, '75), with his career high coming in 1972 (49)
• 2nd in the league in shutouts twice (1971, '72), tied with Mel Stottlemyre in 1971
• Set the single-season record for games pitched in 1968 (88, including 2 starts), since surpassed by 12 pitchers through 2005

• Baseball-Reference.com - career statistics and analysis