Former St. Louis Cardinals pitcher didn't want to retire with any other team

Lance Lynn will be remembered by St. Louis Cardinals fans for many reasons. He was a fiery player on the field with a personality that couldn't be matched off the field. From his graphic gestures to his expletives to his post-game interviews, few players were as big of a draw as Lance was during his time in St. Louis.

Lynn's time both in St. Louis and in Major League Baseball came to a close following the 2024 season. When Lynn announced that he was retiring via his wife's podcast on April 1, 2025, it signaled the end of an era for Cardinal baseball. Lynn was one of the fans' last remaining ties to the 2011 World Series team — only Jon Jay and Daniel Descalso are still involved with the Cardinals in one way or another from that squad.

For both Lance Lynn and the St. Louis Cardinals, it was fortuitous that the right-hander was able to finish his career with the team he began it.

Lance Lynn was drafted by the Cardinals in the first round of the 2008 MLB Draft out of the University of Mississippi with the 39th overall pick. The tall Lynn was known for his strong sinker and a fastball that sat in the mid-90s.

Lynn's first taste of professional baseball came in 2011 when he fluctuated between being a starter and a reliever for the postseason-bound Cardinals squad. He threw just 34.2 innings across 18 appearances that year, but his postseason work is what gave him a name for himself.

In 11 innings during the 2011 playoffs, Lynn had a 3.27 ERA. He pitched in five games during the World Series, including game 7, where he pitched a scoreless eighth inning. In the NLDS, Lynn threw three innings in relief against the Washington Nationals to secure the win.

From that point on, Lance Lynn was in control of his own destiny.

He played 13 seasons in the majors, and during his time in the league, he played with the Cardinals, Minnesota Twins, New York Yankees, Texas Rangers, Chicago White Sox, and Los Angeles Dodgers. His time as a Cardinal stands head and shoulders above the rest, though.

While with St. Louis, Lynn racked up 15.2 bWAR with a 3.43 ERA. He won 79 games with the Cardinals, he struck out 1,028 batters (6th in franchise history), and he pitched 103 quality starts (5th in franchise history). The throwback pitcher relied on his fastball to get batters out, and his intensity was infectious in the clubhouse.

During an interview on MLB Network, Lynn spoke about how he was happy to end his career with the Cardinals, the same team that drafted him 16 years prior. "(Ending my career with the Cardinals) meant a lot. I think that's probably one of the reasons why I retired, though. I didn't see myself, if this was going to be my last year somewhere else, it didn't seem right."

Lynn considered moving to a relief role this offseason, and he was close to signing a deal with the Chicago Cubs at one point, but he instead opted to call it quits after 13 years in the bigs. This way, he was able to finish his career with the Cardinals.

In his final year, Lynn reached the 2,000-inning and 2,000-strikeout marks for his career. He spoke of his gratitude for both the city and the organization for helping him start and end his career with them while also helping him reach these heights.

Lance Lynn will go down as one of the best Cardinal pitchers of his generation. He's being mentioned with pitchers like Chris Carpenter and Carlos Zambrano. He was a figurehead for many of the Cardinals teams of the 2010s, and the right-hander was grateful to spend as much time with the Cardinals as he did.