Longtime MLB starting pitcher Alex Wood formally decided to call it a career on Friday after 12 seasons.
An All-Star in 2017 and a World Series champion in 2020, Wood is perhaps best known for his time with the Los Angeles Dodgers organization. He spent parts of five memorable seasons in Los Angeles as a valuable member of multiple vaunted Dodgers rotations.
Wood began his career with the Atlanta Braves after being selected in the second round of the 2012 MLB Draft. By 2013, he had earned a promotion on the Braves’ roster and found immediate success.
Wood made his way to the Dodgers in 2015 as part of a three-team trade that included the Braves and Miami Marlins. The Dodgers’ return in the trade also included Mat Latos, Michael Morse, Bronson Arroyo, Jim Johnson, Luis Avilán and José Peraza.
After being in a hybrid role for the Braves in 2013 and 2014, Wood was a full-time starter by 2015 and that continued with the Dodgers.
He had some growing pains in 2015 and 2016, with a 4.06 ERA and 130.2 innings pitched across 22 starts. Wood faced some injury problems during the 2016 season that limited him to 14 appearances (10 starts).
But he regained his footing in 2017, with a 2.72 ERA 152.1 innings and was a big part of a Dodgers rotation that led the league in starter ERA. On a personal level, it was Wood’s best season since his sophomore campaign in 2014.
Wood finished off his excellent year with his most memorable performance in a Dodgers uniform, which came during the 2017 World Series against the Houston Astros. On the road in Game 4, Wood delivered 5.2 innings of one-run ball to help the Dodgers secure a 6-2 victory and even the series at two games.
It was made even more remarkable after the fact, when the Astros cheating scandal became public knowledge.
The performance is only rivaled by the two scoreless innings Wood threw in Game 6 of the 2020 World Series to help the Dodgers win their first championship since 1988.
In between those memorable appearances, he helped to pitch the Dodgers to another World Series appearance in 2018 before being traded to the Cincinnati Reds prior to the 2019 season.
Wood had returned to the Dodgers in 2020 on a one-year, $4 million contract.
Following the Dodgers’ World Series championship in 2020, Wood played three seasons with the San Francisco Giants and one with the Oakland Athletics in 2024.
His 2024 season was cut short after undergoing season-ending shoulder surgery.
Wood finished his career with a 3.78 ERA, 1.26 WHIP and 1,173 strikeouts in 1,258 innings pitched. He played for five different teams across his 12-year career: Braves, Dodgers, Reds, Giants and Athletics.
Clayton Kershaw congratulates Alex Wood on retirement
Wood is the eighth former Dodgers player to retire this year.
“Congrats, Woody. Great career, man. Woody was a great teammate and a good friend,” Clayton Kershaw said after dueling with Max Scherzer on Friday night.
“He pitched well for us in some big games. In the 2017 postseason he pitched really well for us. Even in 2020 he helped us out a lot too. Always be thankful to have Woody as a teammate. Congrats on retirement, Woody.”
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