Journeyman said:
More on Wood
ERA 1971 (his first yr as a starter) 42 GS 1.91
1972 , 49-GS 2.51 ERA....
1973 , 48-GS 3.46 ERA...
He retired at age 36, did his arm fall off?
Career ERA 3.24 (knuckleballer)
Looks as if he was injured in 1976 and never regained his control, (BB/K ratio of 124/111 in '77 & '78).
From Can of Corn:
On Sunday, May 9, 1976, at Tiger Stadium, Detroit, a sixth-inning drive off the bat of Tigers centerfielder Ron LeFlore struck the left knee of the 34-year-old southpaw. Wood went down in a heap, clutching the knee. The next day, he underwent surgery for a transverse displaced fracture of the left patella (shattered kneecap). Wilbur Wood's season, and for all intents and purpose, career, was over. Ironically, it was a left knee that both started and ended Wood's rise to stardom.
After two mediocre seasons following the injury, Wood, an avid fisherman, retired after the 1978 season and literally "went fishin'" back in his native New England, where he resides today. In 1998, Wood boasted to
Sports Collectors Digest, "You'll never again see anyone do the stuff I did." Indeed.