In 1966, Wood was one of the first Pirates' pitchers cut from major league spring training. He said that he "thought about quitting baseball, but my wife encouraged me to try one more time." "I think he might have gone into the plumbing business with my father," his wife said. With the Class AAA Columbus Jets of the International League, he had what Wolf called "the hitherto best year of his career at arguably the most crucial point." Wood was named the International League's Most Outstanding Pitcher, leading the circuit in ERA (2.41), complete games (15), shutouts (8), and innings pitched (224). Additionally, his 14 wins tied for third in the league (with Billy Rohr behind Gary Waslewski's 18 and Ed Barnowski's 17); he lost just eight times, for a winning percentage of .636. Though the Pirates chose not to call him up after the year, his performance impressed George Maltzberger, a scout for the Chicago White Sox, who recommended the pitcher to general manager (GM) Ed Short. On October 12, the Pirates traded Wood for the White Sox for a player to be named later (ultimately Juan Pizarro).