One of the funkiest pitching motions in recent Atlanta Braves vintage has thrown home for the final time.
On Friday, Alex Wood announced his retirement from Major League Baseball.
Wood came into professional baseball as a second-round pick by the Braves in 2012 out of the University of Georgia.
He made his debut only 11 months later, a scoreless outing in relief.
Wood began his Braves career as a reliever with his herky-jerky southpaw motion, but he eventually transitioned into a long-time big league starter.
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The best portion of Wood’s career, by the numbers, came with the Braves.
He had a 3.10 ERA with Atlanta, the best of his five MLB stops.
He also went 21-20 for the Braves, including a 2.78 ERA season in 2014, his first full big league campaign.
Wood was then sent to the Dodgers midway through the 2015 campaign. There, he made an All-Star Team (2017) and won a World Series (2020).
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In the latter stages of his career, Wood also played for the Reds, the Giants and the Athletics.
He last appeared in a pro game for the A’s in 2024, when he made nine appearances and had a 5.26 ERA.
Wood has been a free agent for the entirety of the 2025 season before deciding to hang up his cleats.
Overall, Wood went 77-68 in 278 appearances (211 starts) and had a 3.78 ERA.
It’s tough to imagine teaching anyone to throw the way Wood did. But he parlayed that into a dozen years in the big leagues. That’s quite the feat.
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