(Kerry Wood, 2006, finding out he’s in the bullpen)
Funny, when Sammy Sosa comes back to baseball minus 40-lbs., everybody says steroids. When Kerry Wood comes back minus 30-40 lbs and about 50 pitches per game, all Carrie Muskat of the Cubs MLB page wants to know are his beauty secrets. Is it Lasorda Slim-fast or a BALCO slim-fast?
MESA, Ariz. — It’s a good thing Kerry Wood still wears No. 34, because it’s hard to recognize Kid K. And that’s not because the Cubs right-hander is now a reliever and not a starter. Wood changed his diet, increased his training and dropped 30-plus pounds this offseason. The leaner right-hander is projected as a middle reliever, but there’s been talk that Wood will someday take over the closer duties. What kind of closer could he be?
“I don’t know,” Wood said Wednesday at Fitch Park. “I don’t know what kind of pitcher I can be right now. I’m just trying to go out and be a pitcher. I’m not looking at a spot. I think we have a closer. Our bullpen looks great, our starters look great. To me, the team looks awesome. I’m excited to go out and be a part of it and fit in with the guys out there.”
“I don’t know,” Wood said Wednesday at Fitch Park. “I don’t know what kind of pitcher I can be right now. I’m just trying to go out and be a pitcher. I’m not looking at a spot. I think we have a closer. Our bullpen looks great, our starters look great. To me, the team looks awesome. I’m excited to go out and be a part of it and fit in with the guys out there.”
The slim, trim Wood decided to change his eating habits after the regular season ended. He had gained a few pounds in the final month of the season, and was headed into an offseason of rehab for a partially torn right rotator cuff.
“I think I had some weight to lose,” said Wood, who is officially listed in the media guide as weighing 225, his same weight as last season. “I put on some pounds at the end of the season sitting around after I got hurt and not playing and watching baseball. When you’re not doing anything and traveling with the guys, you’re just going to gain weight. I was a little heavier than I needed to be, definitely.”
He didn’t limit himself to half a grapefruit or Slimfast bars. Instead, he had meals delivered to his home, so the food was the right portion size and fresh. Whatever company provided the food should sign Wood up to endorse the plan. How much did he lose?
“Somewhere around 30,” Wood said. “It fluctuates every now and then.”
He’s not the only Cubs pitcher who lost weight this offseason. Ryan Dempster is much trimmer. Scott Eyre has dropped a few pounds. But Wood’s change is the most dramatic.