“Kid K” Goes Out in Style

I’ve done my share of blasting the Chicago Cubs over the years.  Some of it was warranted…plenty of it wasn’t.

But how they handled Kerry Wood’s sudden retirement Friday was pure class.  They let him face one more batter.

And in front of 35,000 cheering Chicagoans, the big righty exited the same way he began…striking out the batter.  On April 12, 1998…it was Mark Grudzielanek.  On Friday, it was Dayan Viciedo.

In 14 big league seasons, Wood went 86-75 with a 3.67 ERA.  But it was with strikeouts that “Kid K” earned his moniker…dude fanned an astounding 10.3 per nine innings.  That places him second all-time behind Randy Johnson’s 10.6.

Not.  Too.  Shabby.