Kerry Wood: Fire Walk with Me

He came into our lives at the velocity of a 99 MPH fastball from close range. It was his manifest destiny; it was our fate, our hope. In 1998 we watched and were held speechless as he struck out 20 Houston Astros in merely his 5th professional start. Captivated and mesmerized, we soon realized the good lord had placed Kerry Wood here for a reason.

Unfortunately, that reason was not fulfilling of the script we’d already written. He was supposed to be the saving grace of a meager franchise ready to put to rest the many years of angst and misery. However, somewhere along the lines destiny malfunctioned and the story was never quite the same. This story of hope had become a symbol of tragedy.

Yet, like all epic tales this one can have a happy ending. Kerry Wood is coming back and he’s coming back for the last time. This is his one last chance to rectify his career for himself and for himself only. This is not for us, the selfish fans who crave and expect so much more than we realize to be humanly possible. No, this is for Kerry Wood and his well being. And shame on anyone who doesn’t “hope” and “wish” the best…for him.

Wood was at that proverbial fork in the road recently. And for him this was the last fork he was prepared to face in his pitching career: ''I decided to just go out and play catch one more time and see how it felt. To me, it was going to be the last time before I made a decision on if I was going to have another surgery or not. I threw, and it felt fine. So I came out the next day again, and it felt better. And I kept going from there.''

Earlier this week Wood appeared for a 12 pitch inning in Single “A” Ball. From all indications this was a successful, albeit brief return to action. He came out of the bullpen, which appears to be the new gig that we can expect. And that’s going to be a good thing. His fastball has been rumored to be floating around 93-95.

After his personal trainer proclaimed his shoulder to have been a miraculous turn around, some wondered if it was an act of the Lord or Tom Cruise. Did Divine Intervention or Karma finally step in and lend a hand? Did he sell his soul to the Devil? Can he walk through fire? Will he be the same pitcher he once was? Will he re-lapse? Is this finally the year?

If we’ve learned anything from Kerry Wood over these past few years, nothing is certain. Hopefully, this was an act of divinity, but who really knows. Maybe the shoulder ruptures again and he never makes it back, which would be all too tragic. And no, I don’t think he can walk through fire.

Yet, one thing is certain…he will NOT ever be the same pitcher he once was. And to be honest that is just fine. The fact that he is climbing the mountain once again for all the marbles says something to the testament of his character. He and Prior are often linked as the butt of several jokes. However, what happened to them both was simply ill fated luck. In their case tragedy was never narrowly averted.

Wood says he wants to repay the Cubs organization by helping out as much as he can in winning the World Series. He wants to be a part of that something special. Little does he realize that just returning to the bigs and the Cubs is special in its own right. He may not have a huge impact on the field (or he might), but we do know he will have a huge impact in the clubhouse and in the hearts of many Cub fans.

For now, we are just holding out and hoping he returns to the Cubs in whatever facet or capacity is right for him and the team. As for whether or not this is the year…they’ll just have to burn that bridge when they get there.

Additional Credits: Chicago Sun Times