For about 6 years, it seemed like he was always on the mound. I remember that big red 28 on his back like it was yesterday.
I got his autograph once when he visited our grade school. One thing I remember was his "pahk the cah at the Hahvahd Yahd" Massachusetts accent.
Great picture in the article of four knuckleballers: Wood, Phil Neikro, Tim Wakefield and Charlie Hough (occurred to me, why wasn't Phil's brother joe there?). Hough is the only one now alive from that group.
Don't recall ever seeing Niekro or Wakefield pitch.
I particularly recall seeing Wood shut down the Mustache Gang A’s in an early Sept. '72 game. It was his 24th win, and it put him very much in the Cy Young race. He lost all of his remaining decisions—the workload caught up w/ him.
I particularly recall seeing Hough throw first pitch in Marlins' history in '93. He got the W over Orel Hershiser of Dodgers that afternoon.
In his 23 year career?
1978 at Wrigley. Niekro left the game in the 3rd inning and the Cubs won 8-6. That must be a rarity - Niekro not making it out of the 3rd. I had no idea... I was 7, just happy to be at the game with my peanuts and cracker jacks.
There are days with even the best of the few knuckleball pitchers when the pitch just isn't working. And in that case it's like batting practice.
I hope it's not past tense with knuckleballers. There always seemed to be at least one or two in the majors since the 1920's.
He pitched in the first inning 714 times, and in the fourth inning 699 times. There is likely some noise that keeps it from being as simple as 714-699, such as entering a game early in relief. But I would think somewhere between 12-18 would be a pretty safe bet. Pretty rare I think, but a bit higher than I would have guessed.
For reference, a few others
Maddux 740 first innings, 728 fourths, difference of 12
Carlton 709, 693, 16
Nolan Ryan 774, 731, 43
Fergie 594, 576, 18
The nearest MLB team was 600 miles away for me for 19 years. I might've seen Niekro pitch in spring training for Braves or NYY.
My reference was to seeing those knuckleballers pitch in person.
Hoyt Wilhelm, Eddie Fisher, Wilbur Wood, Charlie Hough.
I think the only others I saw at a game pitch in person were Tom Candiotti and Tim Wakefield. Possibly both Niekro brothers when they were in the AL, but I don't remember.
cards of all those players before they were big. Hoyt Wilhelm cards from the late 1950s and early 1960s when there was no inkling he would be in the Hall of Fame. One I particularly like is a Steve Carlton with fewer than 10 career wins.
Wilbur Wood was famous for starting both games in a double header. I have a 1964 Wilbur Wood card from when he was on the Red Sox.
RIP Wilbur Wood, an iron man knuckleball reliever (he averaged 80 games, 133 IP, 2.50 ERA 1968-70) who became an even more iron man starter (averaged 22-17, 2.86 ERA, 45 starts, 347 IP 1971-74), would likely have lasted much longer but for a freak knee injury at 34. In 1972, in a 154 game schedule, Wood started 49 games, completed 20, threw 376.2 IP. Wins Above Replacement says he was worth 22.5 WAR just in 1971-72.
and fractured his kneecap. He was out for the season and was never the same after that. He said later he was "gun-shy".
both ends of a DH that year. After he was knocked out early in game 1, Tanner sent him out for game 2.
I read that, after struggling as a conventional pitcher, he became a knuckleballer under the tutelage of Sox teammate Hoyt Wilhelm.
Tanner pitched him >1600 inns from 1971-75.
but after Dick Allen broke his leg on a play at the plate in June, things went straight downhill. They were 12 games over .500 on May 31, and finished the season 77-85.
After that 13-3 start, Wood was 11-17 the rest of the way, including 1-7 in that disastrous June. He still finished fifth in the Cy Young voting. He started both games of the double header on July 20 of that year, against the Yankees at Yankee stadium.
As an aside, in looking up those numbers, beginning on July 17 and ending on July 26 that year, the Sox played 9 games. Nothing unusual about that, except that 8 of the games were in double headers. None of the double headers were on consecutive days, and two of them were separated by the All-star break. Scheduling was certainly different in those days.