Cardinals pitcher Adam Wainwright has defied Father Time for years. Now, he’s decided to give pitching in the majors one final go—and he’s explained his reasons why.
Speaking to reporters for the first time since he announced that he’d be returning in 2023, Wainwright said that part of him wanted to avoid any “hoopla” and keep his final season low key. But he also acknowledged that teammates, friends and family encouraged him to soak up the moment and bask in his career accomplishments.
Wainwright also explained what went into his decision, citing the disappointing end to last season—both from a team and individual perspective.
The Cardinals made the playoffs for the fourth consecutive season, but were swept by the Phillies in the wild-card round. Wainwright also faltered down the stretch, posting a 7.22 ERA over six September starts and not appearing in either game against Philadelphia.
“I do tend to think the way the season ended led even more to me coming back, because I just didn’t like that. I just don’t like going out like that,” Wainwright said, per The Athletic‘s Katie Woo. “I wasn’t performing the way I should have been performing. I wasn’t helping the team like I knew I should’ve been. We didn’t win. … It just kind of feels like, looking back at it now, that everything that happened, happened to lead me back for one more year.”
At age 40, the durable Wainwright made 32 starts for the second consecutive season. Over the past two years, he’s posted a 28–19 record and a 3.37 ERA. He said as soon as the Cardinals lost Game 2, he knew that he would be suiting things up again for one more ride.
“As we were walking in from the bullpen [after being eliminated from the playoffs], it was already in my mind,” Wainwright said. “I looked at Oli Marmol as he was about to have his meeting with the team, and I looked at him and said, ‘I ain’t going out like that.’”
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