St Louis Cardinals: Molina and Wainwright keep climbing leaderboards

Adam Wainwright and Yadier Molina are already St Louis Cardinals legends but the battery continues to climb up all-time lists.

The Adam Wainwright-Yadier Molina duo has been a significant part of the St Louis Cardinals teams for the last two decades. On Thursday, the two reached another milestone, pitching their 284th game as battery mates, the fourth most in Major League Baseball history.

It’s just the latest chapter in what has been a storybook tenure in St. Louis for Wainwright and Molina. Without them, it’s highly unlikely that the Cardinals have had such a long run of sustained success. Their dominance together has guaranteed them a spot in the team’s Hall of Fame and put themselves firmly in the conversation to eventually be entered into Cooperstown.

That history, and that success, is why Wainwright and Molina discussed signing together in the offseason, whether that be in St. Louis or another city. The Cardinals were wise to commit to both players, albeit on one-year deals, as it would have been a massive blow to the organization just after acquiring Nolan Arenado from the Colorado Rockies.

With both, the Cardinals are World Series contenders. Despite both being in their upper-30s, they have shown signs of performing at a high level this season. Wainwright has five outings of allowing two or less runs, including two appearances that have gone at least eight innings. Molina is hitting .285/.318/.507 with seven home runs and 27 RBI in 39 games.

So while both are in the home stretch of their careers, they continue to be difference makers. It has already resulted in two World Series championships and with Arenado in town, there is a real chance for them to bring home a third title.

In the meantime, however, they continue to make history. And as long as they remain together, which they seem primed to do for the rest of their careers, their historical accolades will only increase. Thursday was just another reminder of that.