Books and articles about Jake Wood

Wood came to the majors in 1961 after hitting .300 in all four of his minor league seasons, and he seemed to show great promise his rookie year. Among the fastest men in the AL at that time, he led the league in triples (14) and finished third in steals (30), batting .258 with 96 runs, 11 HR, and 69 RBI. However, he set a major league record with 141 strikeouts, and led AL second basemen in errors, looking especially bad on the double play. He led in errors again in 1962, and injuries cut into both his playing time and his batting (.226). A finger injury in 1963 limited him to 85 games, although he hit .273; thereafter he was a utility man. Used with some initial success as a pinch hitter (7-for-29 in 1964, 9-for-25 in 1965), he lost that knack as well and soon faded from the majors. (SH)