St. Louis Cardinals: Adam Wainwright reaches another milestone

In his first start of the 2020 season, St. Louis Cardinals legend, Adam Wainwright, reached another milestone, adding to his illustrious career.

Adam Wainwright showed the type of teammate and leader he was this week when he supported and spoke publicly about what the team was doing with the BLM movement. This brought him plenty of flack from Cardinal Nation, but he still had work to do on the field as the St. Louis Cardinals’ number two starter.

After Jack Flaherty knocked off the Pirates on Friday, Wainwright wasn’t planning on dropping the ball at home on Saturday. The 38-year-old Wainwright stepped onto the mound to start his 15th season in the MLB. In what was his 317th start in the major leagues, Wainwright proved he still had it.

Over six innings, Waino allowed just three hits, striking out five and allowing one earned run against the Pirates. We will see how he stacks up against a more potent offense, but the offense gave Wainwright plenty of run support and Wainwright earned the win.

This wasn’t just any old win, this win put Wainwright’s name deeper in the record books of Cardinals’ history.

With one more win, Wainwright will pass Bob Forsch and take sole possession of third place all-time in wins.

This speaks to Wainwright’s longevity and just how long he’s been a great pitcher for the Cardinals. Once Waino passes Forsch, he’ll be only behind Jesse Haines (210 wins) and Bob Gibson (251 wins) on the all-time list.

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Wainwright is a lock for the team Hall of Fame and I honestly wouldn’t be surprised if no other Cardinal wears number 50 again. He may not have a ton of time left here, but his career 3.38 ERA and 40.5 bWAR as well as his other stats put him on multiple other top-10 lists in Cardinal history.

Since his debut, Wainwright has been the model leader, professional, teammate, and human that the city of St. Louis has been proud to root for. He should easily be able to get one more win this year to take sole possession of third place in wins. He likely won’t catch Haines or Gibson, but he is unequivocally the best pitcher the Cardinals have had since the turn of the century.

Wainwright has done a fantastic job mentoring the young pitchers on the Cardinals, passing on the knowledge that he has. At this point in his career, his mentorship is just as important as his on-field play. Don’t get it wrong though, he is still a warrior on the mound.