The MLB draft talk is beginning to pick up as High School teams start their State playoffs and NCAA College World Series tournament opening play June 1st. With championship games in the horizon, the MLB draft picture is starting to solidify, and former Cubs pitcher Kerry Wood is surprisingly apart of the fun this year.
Wood forgot to mention he rode into the event on a lawnmower.
A former no. 4 overall pick in the 1995, ‘Kid-K’ was asked to surprise potential top five draft pick MacKenzie Gore with Gatorade’s National Baseball Player of the Year award. An award that has been won by the likes of Peyton Manning, Maya Moore, Karl Anthony-Towns, Jabari Parker and 290 other young athletes over the last 32 years. Gore is a lefty from Whiteville high school, located in Whiteville, North Carolina where the 18-year-old held a 9-0 record while boasting a 0.22 ERA, 132 strikeouts, and seven-inning perfect game – Wood made it clear he only threw seven innings.
Rising to the top. Congrats to the 2016-2017 National Baseball #GatoradePOY @Mgore181. pic.twitter.com/39TYYOxy7P
— Gatorade (@Gatorade) May 31, 2017
Gore, who is Baseball America’s No. 4 overall prospect in the 2017 draft, was “in total shock” when he was presented the award by the Cubs legend.
“It’s something you think about, but you never expect it to happen,” said Gore. “So it is truly a blessing to win this award.”
Kerry Wood, who commended the talented high school left-handers’ humble attitude, was excited when he received the call to participate in the special moment in Gore’s life.
“After getting to spend some time with him and his family, obviously the character is off the charts,” said Wood, “It’s just cool to see the humbleness in his demeanor and around his family and teammates.”
Of course, to win this award, a player has to be excellent athlete on the field but also a fine young person – and Gore is no exception. The East Carolina University commit graduated with a 4.07 weighted GPA, in which he thanks his mother for who is a teacher that demands the very best from her son. MacKenzie is also involved in his community, working his church group to volunteer at Rady’s Children’s Hospital in San Diego. It’s the values that Gatorade holds in this award that really made Wood feel proud to present the award to Gore.
“With such a great organization like Gatorade, what makes this award so special, is that they honor the kids for their academics and their work in the community that separate’s this award from the other high school awards. You have to be the full package, and MacKenzie is definitely the full package.”
Of course, I couldn’t let Kerry get away from an interview without asking him a few Cubs related questions, as I asked what he thought was wrong with the defending World Series Champions. And Wood showed no signs of shaken nerves for the Cubs, pointing to the youth on the Cubs roster regaining focus after a short off-season.
“I think now for this young team, coming off their shortest off-season ever, their due for a nice long road trip where they can catch a bunch of sleep, recharge,” said Wood. “But I expect them break out in a big way, this team is way too good to be sitting at .500 or anywhere near .500.”
One last parting shot, I asked both Gore and Wood if they thought either Gore’s perfect game or Wood’s 20-strikeout game was more impressive, both siding with Wood’s epic 1998 performance.
“I mean, he only had to throw seven innings,” joked the former Cubs ace. Some things never change. You can listen to the rest of the interview with both MacKenzie Gore and Kerry Wood here on the 312 podcast.
