33 walks, and 127 hits allowed in 159 innings pitched. Though the save would not become an official statistic until 1969, Wood was retroactively credited with 16, second in the American League (AL) to Al Worthington's 18. Wood also led the AL with 46 games finished. Sportswriter Jerome Holtzman said he was "sensational," and Stanky, dismissed partway through the season, said "he’s an amazing pitcher." The Sporting News named him its AL Fireman of the Year. Wood also finished 25th in AL Most Valuable Player (MVP) voting. Wood again served as a late-inning reliever for the White Sox in 1969. On April 13, he had his longest outing of the year, allowing two runs in innings in relief of Gary Peters but earning the win in a 12–7 triumph over the Seattle Pilots. Also against the Pilots in the first game of a June 24 doubleheader, he relieved Dan Osinski with the bases loaded and one out in the sixth inning of a tie ballgame. Wood got Mike Hegan to ground into a force play at home, retired Tommy Harper on a groundout to end the inning, then pitched three more scoreless innings, earning the win in Chicago's 6–4 triumph. In the second game of a July 13 doubleheader, he pitched four scoreless innings for the save in a 4–1 victory over the Kansas City Royals. Wood again led the AL in appearances with 76, ranked second in games finished (50) to Ron Perranoski (52), and finished sixth with 15 saves. He had a 10–11 record, a 3.01 ERA, 73 strikeouts, 40 walks, and 113 hits allowed in innings pitched. On May 26, 1970, Wood relieved Gerry Janeski with one out in the seventh, bases loaded, and the White Sox holding on to a 3–0 lead over Kansas City. He allowed a single to Paul Schaal that drove in a run but finished the inning without any more runs scoring, then a scoreless eighth and ninth inning for the save. In the second game of a doubleheader against the Oakland Athletics on June 21, Wood struck out four straight hitters and five of six he faced in two innings, though the effort came in a 5–4 loss. He struck out four batters in a season-high innings on July 25, though this came in a 9–4 loss to the Detroit Tigers. His longest save of the year came on August 12,