Kerry Wood has decided to take advantage of his brief stint last season as a Yankee. The longtime and returning Cub says he has reached the “aww screw it, I was a Yankee my entire career” stage. Kid K plans to someday tell his grandkids that he debuted in 1998, which is not a lie, but he will also avoid any discussion of the Cubs’ woes which he experienced firsthand through 2008.
“Being a rookie in 1998 will help me pull this off,” Wood said from Cubs camp in Mesa recently. “The Yankees began their three-peat that year. In real life, the Cubs were swept by the Braves in the first round. The kids won’t want to hear that, so I’ll actually be doing them a favor.”
Wood says that it won’t be difficult to put one over on the grandkids when they see photos of him in Yankee pinstripes flanked by teammates Derek Jeter, Jorge Posada and Mariano Rivera. He adds that each photo could easily represent a different year.
“On May 6, 1998, I struck out 20 Astros as a Cub, so I’ll say that I began my career as a Cub on April 12 but was traded at the end on May to the Yanks,” said Wood, fleshing out the story he will one day tell. “If anyone asks where my four championship rings are, I’ll just say they were lost in a fire.”
Wood considered the idea of claiming to be a Yankee on the ’96 squad that won the World Series, but decided against being a total liar.
By Rob C. Christiansen
