In 1963, Wood was one of the last pitchers cut in spring training. He opened the season with the Class AAA Seattle Rainiers of the Pacific Coast League, but after recording a 1.12 ERA and winning five of seven decisions, he joined the Red Sox in early June. Boston initially used him as a starter, but he lost four games and allowed 39 hits in 28 innings before getting moved to the bullpen in early July, where he spent the rest of the season. "The little sonofagun just couldn’t throw hard enough,” manager Johnny Pesky said. “But he wanted to pitch and tried his hardest." As a relief pitcher, he recorded a 2.45 ERA in innings pitched. In 25 games (six starts), he had an 0–5 record, a 3.76 ERA, 28 strikeouts, 13 walks, and 67 walks in innings pitched.