Chicago Cubs star pitcher Kerry Wood was scheduled to make his first ever appearance in a Smokies uniform Tuesday night at West Tenn in Jackson.
Wood, in Sevierville rehabbing from an arthroscopic surgery on his right shoulder, was expected to pitch in relief Tuesday night in Jackson as the Smokies (19-19), three games behind East Division leader Huntsville, try to make up some ground in the division as the second half progresses.
The Smokies are the Double-A farm team of the Chicago Cubs.
Huntsville won the first half of the Southern League’s East Division and sealed a position in this year’s Southern League playoffs. The Smokies’ only chance of making the postseason is to pass second place Chattanooga (21-17) and make a run at the second half division title.
Tennessee saw a lead crumble at West Tenn Monday night when Smokies’ starter Paul Shappert allowed three runs in the fourth inning to put the home team on top 7-6 on their way to an 11-6 Southern League win over the Tennessee.
Perhaps Wood will be just what the doctor ordered for the Smokies as they try to gather a boost of momentum for a late summer stretch run.
The 30-year old Wood is in his 11th season with the Cubs after being drafted in the first round (fourth overall) of the 1995 draft.
Wood burst on the scene during his rookie season in the Major League in 1998. Already a ballyhooed minor league prospect, Wood became a household name after his fifth Major League start on May 6, 1998.
In arguably one of baseball’s most memorable games of the modern era, Wood threw 20 strikeouts during a Cubs’ shutout win over the Houston Astros, tying the MLB record strikeouts in a nine inning contest.
The game is considered by some baseball historians to be among the most dominant pitching performances in the history of the game.
According to statistician Bill James’s Game Score System, which attempts to assign a numerical value to a pitching start, Wood’s performance on May 6, 1998, scored a 105, the highest in the history of baseball.
Wood finished his rookie season with a 13-6 record, earning the National League Rookie of the Year award.
Since his breakout rookie season, however, Wood has been in an out of the Cubs lineup while battling a series of ailments and injuries.
Wood has recorded over two hundred strikeouts in four different seasons but started just 14 games during the 2005/2006 season.
On his most recent rehab stint, Wood has appeared in several Minor League games over the last two weeks. He pitched seven innings in recent starts for single-A Peoria and in the Mesa Rookie League.