Aaron Cook enters Monday night's game against the Angels with 58 career wins. A win tonight will put Cook solely in first place on the Rockies all-time wins list.
It should be a special moment for Cook. While his talent has never been questioned, the fact that the 2007 All-Star is still pitching in the big leagues is no small miracle.
In 2004, Cook nearly died on the mound while pitching at Coors Field. Feeling short of breath, he told trainer Keith Dugger that something was wrong.
Dugger quickly recognized the symptoms and had Cook rushed to the hospital where doctors removed a rib in order to relieve a blood clot in his lungs. Several doctors said that Cook was within hours of dying and that if he would have continued pitching he most likely would not have had time to make it to the hospital.
It was a huge loss for the Rockies, who were in the middle of rebuilding and believed that Cook could be their anchor for years to come. Most believed that Cook would never be able to throw another pitch at the Major League level.
Cook, however, had different plans. Just over one year after the incident he was back in a Rockies uniform and finished the season with a 7-2 record. He won his first six starts.
The record, when Cook breaks it, should be his for quite some time. He is under contract through 2011 with a mutual extension for the 2012 season.
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