“I'd pay to see him pitch.”
—Slugger Mark McGwire

“Kerry Wood has some great God-given tools. Because of where he grew up, his work ethic, his tools, it makes [for] a pretty special kid.”
—Former major league pitcher Tom House

“Kerry had the best mechanics of any high school pitcher I ever saw. He threw effortlessly. There was no wasted motion.”
—Grand Prairie High School coach Mike McGilvray

“There isn't anyone else who has near the ability he has in the game of baseball.”
—Former Cubs pitching coach Oscar Acosta

“There's nobody I can put in the ball game that can throw as good as Kerry Wood.”
—Former Cubs manager Jim Riggleman

“Kerry Wood is why you stay in this game 25 years after you've retired. He's special. You wait to see a kid like that. And now you just sit back and watch. It's something.”
—Hall of Famer Billy Williams

“As much as it's Sammy's team, it's Woody's pitching staff. That's the way I look at it. He's been here the longest, consecutively since '98. He's been through so much in his career. I feel he deserves to be the No. 1 guy because he has that type of stuff.”
—Teammate Mark Prior

“We don't want to get too rough on him. He's going to be in this game a helluva lot longer than the rest of us, and we'll need to get on his pass list.”
—Former Cubs catcher Scott Servais

“He's like John Wayne on the mound. He commands that respect.”
—Former Cubs manager Don Baylor

“Kerry Wood is one of the finest youngest pitchers around. He's getting better and he still has some things to learn.”
—Cubs manager Dusty Baker

“I've said this many times: There's one other pitcher [besides Kerry] that I recall that on any given day is unhittable—and that was Sandy Koufax. I feel very strongly about that. … Kerry Wood is in that category because of the velocity he throws with. Plus, he has a breaking ball. I know I shouldn't be stacking Kerry Wood up against the great Sandy Koufax, but to me, he is in the Koufax neighborhood.”
—Cubs broadcaster Ron Santo