The White Sox community received some sad news this weekend. Longtime White Sox pitcher Wilbur Wood passed away on Saturday at the age of 84. Known for his knuckleball and incredible durability, Wood currently holds the single-season, live-ball era record for most innings pitched at 376.2, a feat that will certainly never be topped.
We are saddened to learn of the passing of three-time All-Star Wilbur Wood.
— MLB (@MLB) January 19, 2026
A left-handed knuckleballer, Wood spent 12 of his 17 Major League seasons with the White Sox from 1967-78. The Massachusetts native also spent time with the Red Sox and Pirates.
After mastering the… pic.twitter.com/ROFzHCyiqc
Originally signed by the Boston Red Sox, Wood broke into the league in 1961, making just seven appearances and two starts over the following two years. After spending the 1963-1965 season as a reliever with the Red Sox and Pirates, Wood joined the White Sox in 1967, and posted a dominant 1.87 ERA in the White Sox bullpen in 1968. In the early 70s, Wood became a starter, and he made an incredible 44 starts during a 1971 season that saw him post a 1.91 ERA, throw 334 innings, and make the all-star team.
A historic run for Wilbur Wood
During the 1972 season, Wood set his record of 376.2 innings, which still stands today. He started 49 games that season, threw a whopping 20 complete games, and finished with a 24-17 record. He finished second in the AL Cy Young voting. Wood broke the 300 inning threshold again in 1973 and 1974, and came just nine innings short of it in 1975 as well. Overall, Wood played 17 big league seasons, 12 of which with the White Sox. Wood suffered a shattered kneecap on a line drive during the 1976 season, and though he came back in 1977, he was never quite the same. He retired from baseball following the 1978 season.
Wood finished his big league career with a 3.24 ERA over 2,684 big league innings. He led the American League in wins twice and led the league in games started each year from 1972-1975. Though he was never able to dominate consistently at the big league level, Wood will always be remembered for his incredible durability. He was the very definition of a workhorse in a big league rotation.
In the modern era of baseball, the league’s best workhorses reach 200-210 innings per season. The idea of a player throwing over 300 innings in a season is completely unheard of, and I doubt it’ll ever happen again. Since 2000, Mark Buerhle holds the White Sox single-season innings record with 245.1 in 2004, over 100 innings short of Wood's mark. Modern medicine and science have studied how to prevent injuries to pitchers with a higher number of elbow injuries than ever before, and workload management has been a key area of focus. Pitchers are throwing harder than ever before and it’s straining on their arms. Barring a significant change in research, pitchers will likely never take on the workload of the 1970s, and Wilbur Wood’s incredible record will live forever.
Rest in peace to Wilbur, and my thoughts are with his family. He will always be remembered by White Sox fans for his incredible accomplishments and his permanent stamp on baseball history.