UPDATE, 5:47 p.m. ET: After the Cubs game, Kerry Wood said it was time to retire.

"I had a blast. I wouldn't trade it in. I learned from the injuries, I learned about my body and what it takes to compete and go out and play every day," Wood said in a 3-2 loss to the White Sox.

"Mentally and physically we get to this point," Wood said. "Every player gets to this point where we don't all get to choose when, we don't all get to have a say in it. But I was fortunate enough to play this game a long time in a great city in front of the best fans in baseball. … It was time."

Asked why he wanted one last appearance at Wrigley Field?

"I definitely didn't want to go out with my last inning being me throwing my glove in the seats," Wood said. "I wanted to put up a zero or at least get one guy out."

On May 8, Wood was roughed up by the Braves. When he walked off the field he tossed his glove into the stands. That was his last appearance at Wrigley until today.

UPDATE, 4:30 p.m. ET: Kerry Wood enters the game with one out in the eighth inning to face White Sox's Dayan Viciedo. Like a story book ending, Wood strikes out Viciedo on three pitches for the second out.

He is replaced by James Russell and walks off the mound to a standing ovation from the Wrigley faithful. Wood is met by his son at the top of the dugout in an emotional moment.

In the dugout he is greeted with hugs from his teammates before one finale curtain call from the fans.

What a grand exit for Kid K.

EARLIER:

CHICAGO – Chicago Cubs reliever Kerry Wood, one of the most popular athletes in the Windy City the last decade and a half, is expected to announce his retirement following this afternoon's game against the White Sox at Wrigley Field.

Wood, who re-signed with the Cubs in 2011 at a hometown discount and made it clear he would only return to baseball in 2012 if it were with the team, has struggled in a set-up role this year.

He is 0-2 with an 8.64 ERA in nine games and was on the disabled list last month with right shoulder fatigue.

The Cubs made no official announcement, but the Chicago Tribune and Chicago Sun Times both reported Wood wished to pitch one more time today.



"He doesn't want to do it for the recognition ... just to have one last time and know that," teammate and close friend Ryan Dempster told the Tribune.

The Sun Times reported Wood's wife, Sarah, posted on her Facebook page Friday morning: "Every story has an end but in life every ending is just a new beginning." Wood was seen running the outfield with his son during batting practice.

Wood, 34, became known as Kid K after he tied a major-league record with 20 strikeouts in his fifth start as a rookie in 1998. The game – a one-hitter – is considered one of the top moments in club history.

Arm injuries quickly sidetracked his career – he had Tommy John surgery in 1999 – and he moved to the bullpen in mid-season 2005 because of right shoulder problems. He underwent arthroscopic surgery on the shoulder on Aug. 31, 2005 and bounced back to earn an All-Star berth as the Cubs' closer in their 2008 N.L. Central championship season.

The Wood family is very involved in the Chicago community and he is expected to remain in the Cubs' organization.