alex wood double dipped and got that ring

the last three seasons have seen the return of three different dodger players for a second go-round with the club - a phenomenon i refer to as double dipping: they played for the dodgers, they left to play for a different team, and then they returned to play for the dodgers again. i had a whole running series of posts highlighting all of the dodger double dippers in their history over at my old blog. in 2018, it was matt kemp. in 2019, russell martin took a second tour. and, in 2020, alex wood returned to the fold.

wood's first tenure with the dodgers lasted from the trading deadline in 2015 through the 2018 season. he is probably best remembered by dodger fans for his 2017 season in which he went 16-3 with a 2.72 era and made the all-star team. he also started game 4 of the world series that year, and had thrown 5 and two-thirds innings of no-hit ball before george springer took him deep on his last pitch of the night. the day after that game, i ordered an autograph parallel of the topps now card highlighting the occasion:

the dodgers wound up winning that game (as they did every even game of the series), but wood got a no-decision for his efforts. of course, he also received no ring that year.

after the 2018 season, a year in which wood was 9-7 with a 3.68 era, he was dealt to the reds along with the aforementioned kemp and yasiel puig (plus kyle farmer). the first card i saw of him in cincinnati duds came from 2019 topps heritage high numbers:

injuries kept wood out of the lineup for most of the 2019 season, and he wound up making only seven starts. he signed with the dodgers as a free agent prior to the 2020 season, and wound up with one of the few legitimate update cards in 2020 topps update:

he was injured after one start early in the shortened season, but was back in the bullpen for the month of september. although he didn't pitch particularly well in the regular season, he made the postseason roster for the nlcs and world series, and finished his season with two scoreless innings in game 6 of the fall classic against the rays. at the end of that game, wood was one of the first players out of the dugout to celebrate near the mound, and one of many dodgers who missed out on rings in 2017 and 2018 only to be rewarded in 2020.  i'm glad he was able to be a part of it as i hope he fails to win another ring since he will be pitching for the giants in 2021.

as for the next dodger double dipper, it looks like brandon morrow has a shot. if so, i hope his 2021 season turns out slightly better than his 2017 season with the dodgers. we will see!