Monday, September 18th, 2023. The day Adam Wainwright finally got win number 200 with the St. Louis Cardinals.
By no means was this season a “farewell tour” for Wainwright as he’s arguably been the worst qualified starting pitcher this season, pitching to a 5-11 record with a 7.40 ERA in just over 100 innings pitched, along with a 1.90 WHIP and opponents batting .345 against him. By far, this year has been his worst in his 18-year career, but as for win number 200, we saw what we Cardinals fans call “vintage Waino.”
Seven innings of shutout baseball, only allowing four hits and two walks, striking out three, and not throwing a single pitch over 88 miles per hour against the NL Central-leading Milwaukee Brewers.
Yes, this season has been disappointing for the 67-83 Cardinals. Yes, it’s been excruciating to watch the vast majority of Uncle Charlie’s starts. But watching that post-game interview, seeing how emotional he and catcher Wilson Contreras were, and hearing Adam say, “I love this city and love being a St. Louis Cardinal.” Knowing how much time, effort, sweat, and tears this man has poured into our organization for the past 18 years, you can’t help but say
“Thank you, Adam Wainwright.”
(Photo by Joe Puetz/Getty Images)