Chicago Cubs: MLB The Show introduces the Kerry Wood player program

MLB The Show 20 has Chicago Cubs and other baseball fans clinging onto every simulated pitch as the season remains on hold

I have watched Game 7 of the 2016 World Series at least a dozen times already since Illinois was placed on stay-at-home order. Surely, other Chicago Cubs fans are doing the same or at least should be encouraged to do so.

There is currently no timetable on when or if baseball operations will resume. Businesses and schools have closed, meaning adults and children are now stuck indoors. Instead of heading to the movie theater, going out to eat, visiting family/friends, or taking a trip, we are forced to find other ways to pass the time during the current pandemic.

Admittedly, with very little shame, video games have taken up most of my time. Thankfully, for baseball fans, MLB The Show released as scheduled on March 17 with Cubs shortstop Javier Baez as the cover athlete.

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The Show is hands down one of the best top sports games on the market. Currently, only those with a next-generation PlayStation are able to enjoy the fun at least for another year.

Legends of the game have found their way into the ever-popular Diamond Dynasty mode. A game mode in which gamers complete challenges and or programs to build their fantasy roster.

You also have the option of purchasing packs with stubs (in-game currency). Packs consist of future, current, or, as noted before, legends of the game.

Finding himself in the video game yet again would be former All-Star Kerry Wood. His signature card highlights his 2008 campaign in which the veteran converted 34 of 40 save attempts. In order to obtain this card, players need to complete the ‘Kerry Wood Player Program’ as noted by MLB The Show.

The program itself consists of six challenges, including his first career save, the Cubs clinching the Central, and an NLDS appearance. In 2007, Wood made his first postseason outing as a reliever, yielding one earned run in three innings of work.

In the end, Chicago would be eliminated by the Arizona Diamondbacks but returned to the NLDS the following season. Again, Kerry worked from the bullpen, continuing his transition to full-time reliever after piling 178 career starts.

His final start came in a losing effort to the Houston Astros on June 6, 2006. Shortly after, the Cubs placed him on the disabled list with a shoulder injury.

Wood’s time with the Cubs came to an end following the 2008 campaign when he inked a two-year deal with Cleveland. After a brief stint in Cleveland and New York, Kerry made the personal choice to return home to the Cubs despite receiving multiple deals from other clubs.

On May 18, 2012, the 35-year-old right-hander retired immediately after striking out Dayan Viciedo of the Chicago White Sox. The last better he’d square off against as a big-league pitcher.

Coming off the field for the final time, fans in attendance at Wrigley Field applauded Kerry Wood as his son greeted him from the dugout. An outstanding career is coming to an end where it all started in 1998 — Home.