To paraphrase Hamlet, we will not see his like again.
If ever there was a modern day workhorse, it was Wilbur Wood, who passed away on January 17.
The hefty lefty knuckleballer pitched for 17 years, amassing a record of 163-153. But he won 20 or more games for four straight seasons (1971-74) with the Chicago White Sox where he spent the majority of his career, tossing more than 300 innings in each after never having surpassed 160 heretofore.
Wood made his debut with the Boston Red Sox as a 19-year-old in 1961 before being sold to the Pittsburgh Pirates (two-plus seasons). He came to Chicago in what ended up being a trade for Juan Pizzaro after the 1966 campaign.
Wood was a three-time All-Star and finished second in the AL Cy Young voting in 1972; he also finished in the top five in 1971 and 1973. Although he won a career-high 24 games in 1973, he also lost 20 that season when the Sox went 77-85.
Here’s his obituary from The New York Times and the Chicago Tribune.