MISSING IN ACTION-"IN ACTION" #32: 1972 WILBUR WOOD

Time for "Wilbah", White Sox pitcher Wilbur Wood to get a "missing" in-action card in the 1972 set.

Take a look:

In 1971 Wood started an incredible four year run where he'd top 20 wins, top 40 starts, and top 300+ innins of work each and every year.

But it was just how MANY starts and innings he compiled in that time that is wild.

In 1971 he had 42 starts with 334 innings, 1972 was 49 starts with 376.2, 1973 was 48 starts with 359.1 innings and 1974 was 42 starts with 320.1!

Unreal!

Granted, relying on a knuckleball took some of the wear and tear off the arm, but nevertheless looking at those numbers are hilarious!

Between 1971 and 1973 he finished in the top-5 in Cy Young voting each time, with a second-place finish in 1972 behind Gaylord Perry.

He even finished top-10 in M.V.P. voting in 1971 and 1972, finishing 9th and 7th respectively.

After nine years of working out of the bullpen, Wood found himself as a starter in 1971 and responded brilliantly!

He'd post a 22-13 record with a sparkling 1.91 E.R.A., 22 complete games, seven shutouts and 210 strikeouts.

This after leading the American League in appearances with 77 (with no starts), while racking up 21 saves.

His 1968 season out of the bullpen for the ChiSox was also fantastic, as he posted a 13-12 record with a 1.87 E.R.A. and 16 saves while appearing in a league-leading 88 games with 159.0 innings pitched. ALL in relief!

Anyway, by the time Wood was retired after the 1978 season, he finished with a 164-156 record, with a 3.24 earned run average, 24 shutouts, 57 saves and 1411 strikeouts over 651 games, 297 of which were starts.

***Thanks to reader Joe Sabatino I realized that Wood actually HAD an "In Action" card in the 1972 set. I have no clue how I missed that one.
Ah well, I'm going to whiff every once in a while...
Thanks Joe for the heads up!