Shoulda Wood-a Coulda

As we commence the 2010 season, we eagerly anticipate the debuts of prospects like Stephen Strasburg, Buster Posey, Carlos Santana, Mike Stanton and Jason Heyward. Some may turn out to be utter disappointments. But what about those who dazzle us as rookies, and leave us salivating every time they take the mound or step up to the plate? Do we tend to get worked up so much in them, that they begin to be treated like superstars? The prime example of this is Kerry Wood.

 Kerry Wood was drafted 4th overall out of high school in 1995 by the Chicago Cubs. After 3 years of dominating helpless minor league hitters, he was called up in 1998. Still, many people hadn't heard of the young, Texan right-hander. This all changed on May 6th, 1998, when Wood, in his fifth career start and facing his hometown Houston Astros, pitched perhaps the single most dominating game of all-time. His stats tell it all: CG, 20 K, 0 BB, 1 H, 0 ER (however, he managed to throw one HBP, at <drumroll> Craig Biggio). All of a sudden, this young gun became the center of attention in the majors. And by the way, he was only 21. So how come he has not joined the pantheon of our time, like Roy Halladay, Johan Santana and Mark Buehrle (yes, Mark Buehrle, nobody seems to realizes how consistent he is).  Well, like many hard-throwing young pitchers, he encountered tons of injuries. After becoming the fastest pitcher to reach 1000 strikeouts, he tailed out. He was forced to become a closer, which had some short-term success, but ended up with, you guessed it, more injuries! So the man that was deemed the next Nolan Ryan couldn't even muster a third of the Express's wins. 

This is just one of many of these cases. So, when Brian Matusz pitches a 2-hit, 15 strikeout performance, don't automatically proclaim him the next big thing. I don't mean for this to sound like a Public Service Announcement, but we have a duty as educated baseball fans not to go gaga over a trendy, flashy rookie. Thank you for your time.