Wilbur Wood, one of baseball’s most unique and durable arms, has passed away at the age of 84. A left-handed knuckleballer with a rubber arm and a throwback mentality, Wood carved out a remarkable 17-year big league career with the Red Sox, Pirates, and most notably, the White Sox. He was a three-time All-Star and, for a stretch in the 1970s, arguably the most reliable workhorse in the game.
Wood’s path to stardom wasn’t immediate. He debuted with Boston in 1961, but over the next five seasons, he saw limited action-just 159 2/3 innings across 73 appearances. A 1964 trade to the Pirates gave him more regular bullpen work, but after spending all of 1966 in Triple-A, it looked like his big league career might never fully take off.
Then came the turning point: a trade to the White Sox ahead of the 1967 season. That move didn’t just give Wood a new team-it gave him a mentor.
Future Hall of Famer Hoyt Wilhelm was already in Chicago, and he helped Wood refine the knuckleball, a pitch Wood had dabbled with but never fully committed to. Under Wilhelm’s guidance, Wood embraced the knuckler as his primary weapon, and it transformed his career.
From 1967 to 1970, Wood became one of the most dependable bullpen arms in baseball. He logged 495 2/3 innings over 292 appearances with a 2.49 ERA-numbers that speak to both effectiveness and sheer volume. He wasn’t just closing games or setting up; he was often eating multiple innings in high-leverage spots, a true fireman in every sense of the word.
But it was the move back to the rotation in 1971 that elevated Wood to another level. Over the next five seasons, he delivered a workload that defies modern comparison.
From 1971 to 1975, Wood made 224 starts in 227 appearances, logging a staggering 1681 2/3 innings with a 3.08 ERA. He led the majors in starts four times during that span and twice paced the league in innings pitched.
His 1972 campaign is the stuff of legend. Wood threw 376 2/3 innings that year-still the highest single-season total by any pitcher since 1918.
To put that in perspective, the top two innings leaders in all of MLB in 2025 combined for just 412 1/3 innings. That’s how far removed Wood’s durability is from today’s game.
The baseball world took notice. Wood finished second in AL Cy Young voting in 1972, third in 1971, and fifth in 1973.
He was named an All-Star in 1971, 1972, and 1974. But despite his brilliance, the White Sox weren’t serious contenders during that stretch, which meant Wood’s efforts often came in tough-luck losses.
In 1973, he became one of the rare pitchers to both win and lose 20 games in the same season, finishing 24-20. He won 20 or more games every year from 1971 to 1974, and lost 20 in 1975.
Wood’s incredible run came to a halt in 1976, when a line drive off the bat of Detroit’s Ron LeFlore shattered his kneecap. He missed the rest of the season and never fully regained his form. Over his final two years, he posted a 5.11 ERA in 290 2/3 innings before retiring.
By the time he hung up his cleats, Wood had compiled a 164-156 record with a 3.24 ERA across 651 games and 2684 innings. His walk rate (6.5%) and strikeout rate (12.7%) reflect the nature of the knuckleball-less about overpowering hitters and more about disrupting timing and inducing weak contact.
Wilbur Wood wasn’t just a knuckleballer. He was a throwback to a different era of pitching-when starters finished what they started, and durability was as valuable as velocity. His career is a reminder that there’s more than one way to dominate on a mound, and his legacy lives on in the rare breed of pitchers still bold enough to throw the fluttering, unpredictable knuckler.
Our thoughts are with Wood’s family, friends, and the many fans who remember his remarkable run through baseball history.