Veteran right-hander Adam Wainwright (42-St. Louis Cardinals) reached the 200-win milestone in an emotional retirement season.
Wainwright started the Cardinals’ 2023 Major League Baseball (MLB) home game against the Milwaukee Brewers at Busch Stadium in St. Louis, Missouri, U.S., on Sept. 19 and pitched seven innings of one-hit ball with two walks and three strikeouts to lead the team to a 1-0 victory.
Wainwright improved to 11-5 on the season and reached 200 career wins.
Wainwright debated between extending his career and retiring after last season, but decided to play one more season and hang up his jersey.
His path to 200 wins wasn’t easy.
In March, Wainwright participated in the World Baseball Classic (WBC). The United States, baseball’s dominant nation, was missing a number of its top pitchers due to injury. Wainwright, a veteran born in August 1981, was more than happy to play for the Stars and Stripes. He pitched four innings of one-run ball in the quarterfinals against Cuba, leading the team to the final. However, he suffered a groin injury shortly before the start of the tournament, perhaps due to the early push to get fit for the WBC at such a young age.
Wainwright earned his 198th career win on June 18 against the New York Mets in his eighth start of the season, allowing three runs in six and one-third innings. The 200-win plateau appeared to be within reach.
However, Wainwright failed to reach the milestone for the next 11 games. He earned his 199th win with five innings of two-run ball against the Baltimore Orioles on April 13. He then reached the 200-win plateau in an emotional win over Milwaukee on April 19. St. Louis’ 150th game of the season was a missed opportunity to reach the 200-win mark, and with only 12 games remaining, the Reds were not assured of reaching the milestone.
Wainwright is a franchise star who made his big league debut with the Reds in 2005. For 19 years, Wainwright took the mound in a St. Louis uniform. That’s why the crowd of 33,176 at Busch Stadium gave Wainwright a standing ovation as he walked to the dugout after a scoreless seventh inning with a 1-0 lead.
Wainwright’s hard work and steadiness endeared him to many. He reached the 20-win plateau in 2010 and 2014, giving him 12 double-digit win seasons in his career. At age 40, he was 17-7 with a 3.05 ERA in 2021 and 11-12 with a 3.71 ERA last year.
“I think I pitched like myself, at least today,” he said after the game, “It was my first no-hitter of the season, and it was the longest one. It was my first no-hitter of the season, and it was the longest one, so I think it’s a testament to my hard work.”메이저놀이터
Meanwhile, Kim Kwang-hyun (SSG Landers), who played with Wainwright and St. Louis in 2020-2021, took to social media to congratulate him, writing, “Wayo! I respect you,” he wrote on social media. At the time, Wainwright helped him adjust to life and training in the big leagues.