Wood Still Remembers 20-K Game After 10 Years

CINCINNATI – Kerry Wood still has vivid memories of his greatest game.

The Chicago Cubs closer remembers everything about the day he struck out 20 batters in his fifth major league start, joining Roger Clemens as the only pitchers to accomplish the feat.

Wood remembers how he felt warming up on May 6, 1998. He remembers how the strikeouts piled up. He remembers certain pitches he threw to certain batters. He remembers what he ate for dinner to celebrate.

"It was one of those days I just had it," Wood said Monday before the start of a series against the Cincinnati Reds. "Very few days stick out like that."

Wood was a 20-year-old rookie when he delivered one of the greatest pitching performances of all-time. He allowed only one hit, a third-inning single by Ricky Gutierrez, in a 2-0 victory over the Houston Astros.

When he fanned Bill Spiers in the ninth for his 19th strikeout, Wood tied the NL record. He struck out Derek Bell to end the game and tie Clemens' major league mark. It wasn't until after the game, when he was being interviewed, that Wood realized he had struck out so many.

Wood finished the 1998 season ranked third in the NL in strikeouts and won the league's Rookie of the Year award. He missed the final month with a sore right elbow, then had reconstructive elbow surgery the next April, starting a run of arm and shoulder problems that undercut his career.

"It's been a roller coaster of good, bad, indifferent – sometimes not even here," Wood said. "I've experienced a lot in Chicago."

Ten years after his greatest game, Wood is the Cubs' closer, something he never envisioned as a possibility when he was a rookie.

"I probably would have said, 'No chance,'" Wood said. "Probably with somebody else at some point in my career, but not with the same team."

Who Is He?
Kerry Lee Wood (born June 16, 1977 in Irving, Texas) is an American baseball player. A right-handed pitcher, he plays professional baseball for the Chicago Cubs. Wood has recorded over two hundred strikeouts in four different seasons between 1998-2003, with a high water mark of 266 K's in 2003. In recent years, he has had three serious arm injuries, and has only started a total of 14 major league games from Opening Day 2005 through the middle of 2006. Wood returned to the Cubs during the 2007 season as a relief pitcher.

Early Life
Wood became a high school phenom while attending Mac Arthur High School in Irving, Texas, for his first three seasons of high school baseball. He continued his domination of batters at Grand Prairie High School in his final season as a high school player.

MLB Records
* Fastest to reach 1000 strikeouts in MLB history (in appearances): 134 games
* Fastest to reach 1000 strikeouts in MLB history (in innings pitched): 853 IP
* Strikeouts in a 9-inning game: 20 on May 6, 1998 (tied record then held by Roger Clemens)

Personal life
Wood is married to the former Sarah Pates of Waukegan, Illinois. The couple has a son, Justin Dean (born 2006). After FOX repeatedly kept showing her reactions in the crowd during playoff games Kerry was starting, he asked that the shots of her in live telecasts be reduced.

FYI - Behind Sports

Who Is The Fastest To Get The 600 Homerun Club?

The Cincinnati Reds' Ken Griffey Jr. is only the sixth to make the 600 Home Run Club, but he's not the fastest to get there, as he had to play 2,439 games to make the 600 milestone hit.

Who Is Ken Griffey Jr.

George Kenneth "Ken" Griffey, Jr. (born November 21, 1969, in Donora, Pennsylvania) is a Major League Baseball player for the Cincinnati Reds. He is one of the most prolific home run hitters in baseball history, currently #6 on the list of most career home runs, and is tied for the record of most consecutive games with a home run. His nicknames have been "The Natural", "The Kid", and "Junior". He is the son of former big league outfielder Ken Griffey, Sr. His swing has been described as "one of the most beautiful and effortless," as well as "perfect" and "majestic". He has also been described as a "beautiful man."

The fastest is Babe Ruth, who got it in just 2,004 games. Of course, the still unsurpassed homerun topnotcher is Hank Aaron, who made a total of 755.

Following are the stats of the 600 HR Club, arranged according to most number of hits, with the number of games played when they got HR No. 600 in parentheses:

• Hank Aaron: 755 (2,592)

• Barry Bonds: 762 (2,394)

• Babe Ruth: 755 (2,004)

• Willie Mays: 660 (2,557)

• Sammy Sosa: 609 (2,302)

• Ken Griffey Jr. 600 (2,439)

The statistics come from the official website of Major League Baseball.

FYI - Behind Sports

Boston Celtics 39 Point Margin Sets Record

BOSTON – The Celtics' 39-point margin in Tuesday night's championship clinching win is the largest in a decisive NBA finals game.

In fact, Boston now has four of the six biggest margins in games that clinched titles. The Lakers have the other two in championships won while they were in Minneapolis. The previous biggest winning margin in such games was 33 points by Boston on April 25, 1965, when it beat the Los Angeles Lakers 129-96.

On Tuesday night, the Celtics trounced the Lakers 131-92 to take the series 4-2.

Ray Allen set a record for most 3-pointers made in a finals series with 22. The previous mark of 17 was set by Dan Majerle with Phoenix in 1993 and matched by Derek Harper with New York in 1994. Allen's seven 3-pointers Tuesday night tied the finals record shared by Houston's Kenny Smith and Chicago's Scottie Pippen.

And Boston's 52 baskets from 3-point range erased the finals mark of 51 set by San Antonio in 2005.

The Celtics also put on a record-setting defensive performance Tuesday with 18 steals, eclipsing the single-game finals mark set by Golden State against Washington in 1975.

The Lakers put their own stamp on the record book, despite being crushed in the decisive game. League MVP Kobe Bryant's 16 steals in the series tied the mark held by some pretty special players — Julius Erving, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird and Dwyane Wade.

And Boston broke its own NBA record for most championships with 17. The Lakers are second with 14.

FYI - Behind Sports