With Kerry Woods career as a Chicago Cub now over, he spent some time in our CSN studio on Friday afternoon discussing his 20-strikeout game from May 6, 1998 against the Houston Astros.
Wood reflected on the game, his emotions looking back on that historic day and he admitted that he didnt really understand the magnitude of the achievement for a long time.
Wood told me that his bullpen session before that start was awful and he had no idea how he was going to get through that start against the Astros, who had a very talented lineup led by Craig Biggio and Jeff Bagwell.
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My bullpen was awful and, in fact, I shut it down early because I didnt know where the ball was going, he said.
In addition, Wood gave us some breaking news, telling us that the final pitch of the game -- a slurve to Derek Bell -- was the first time that he ever felt something wrong in his elbow.
"That was actually the first pitch and first time I had felt anything in my elbow," Wood said. "I threw it as hard as I could. I knew I was finishing the game. I knew I had him and all I had to do was throw it and get it to the plate or close to it.
"I just gripped it and threw it as hard as I could. It didn't hurt right then. I made my next start, but I remember thinking 'Alright, something's different.' That's the first time I felt anything in the elbow, on that last pitch.
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"It was worth it."