Kammala wannan magana: An haife shi kuma ya girma a San Diego, California, Prior ya ɗauki Tom House a matsayin malamin koyar da shi a makarantar sakandare. Aikinsa a Jami'ar Kudancin California, inda ya lashe lambar yabo ta Golden Spikes, ya gan shi ya zama daya daga cikin manyan abubuwan da ke cikin shirin MLB na 2001, lokacin da ya kasance na biyu na gaba daya ta Cubs. Ya yi wasanni shida ne kawai a cikin ƙananan wasanni kafin ya fara wasa tare da tawagar a 2002. A 2003, ya gama na uku a National League (NL) Cy Young Award jefa kuri'a, ranking daga cikin shugabannin da 18 wins, a 2.43 samu gudu talakawan (ERA), da kuma 245 strikeouts. Taimaka wa Cubs lashe taken NL Central, ya wuce Greg Maddux a cikin NL Division Series kuma ya ci wasan 2 na NL Championship Series, amma yana kan tudu don wasan 6 lokacin da
Steve Bartman ya hana Moisés Alou kama kwallon da aka yi (Bartman yana ɗaya daga cikin magoya baya da yawa waɗanda suka yi ƙoƙari su kama kwallon da aka yi a fili a cikin tsararru).