ST. LOUIS (KMOX) - Adam Wainwright never originally thought he was going to be a career St. Louis Cardinals player, but he was pretty glad that it happened.
Wainwright penned a heartfelt letter to St. Louis Cardinals and Cardinals fans on the Player's Tribune Thursday titled 'Dear St. Louis' and he thanked everyone in the city for the time and career he had.
In the letter he talked a variety of topics such as how he originally thought he was going be a career Atlanta Braves player, pitching alongside Greg Maddux, John Smoltz and Tom Glavine - same players he grew up watching as a kid in Georgia.
Those plans changed when he got a call from his mom and future Kansas City Royals General Manager Dayton Moore, who was then Braves Director of player personnel development to tell him that he was traded to the Cardinals for J.D. Drew.
Wainwright says he was running through a wide range of emotions because he got the call from Moore and his mom while he was in the living room of his future wife Jenny’s parents’ house, getting ready to ask her dad if he can receive his blessing to marry her.
"On one hand I’m just relieved no one died. But then on another hand I’m completely shocked, and trying to process the news." wrote Wainwright. "And then on another hand I’m like, 'Hey … guys … Mom? I hate to cut this short, but I’m actually in the middle of … I’m doing that thing we talked about.'"
Wainwright also discussed how one of the most pivotal moments of his career was getting left off the 2005 NLCS roster and not being able to travel to Houston.
"I remember feeling so mad, so hurt, so confused, so embarrassed. It was a tough moment." wrote Wainwright. "I’d been watching Game 5 back at home in Georgia, and by the time it was over, I remember it had gotten crazy dark out. And for some reason, I decided to get in this little johnboat that we kept in this pond by the house, and I paddled out to the middle of the pond in the pitch black. And I don’t even know how I describe what happened next. But I just started yelling, real loud … and, honestly, asking God for answers. "I was like, Why am I here tonight instead of there?? What’s so wrong about me??? Why is what I’m doing not enough???"
Wainwright says he eventually realized that there was no point to blame someone else for him being left off the roster, and instead blame himself for being left off the roster and he instead it was on himself to make sure then-Cardinals manager Tony La Russa would want him on the playoff roster for sure.
"I sat there in my johnboat, on this pond in the pitch black, and just bawled. And I made myself and my Lord this promise: No longer would I waste the talents He gave me." wrote Wainwright. "Every pitch from now on, I was going to throw with so much importance, so much focus, so much commitment … it would be like it was like the last pitch of the World Series. That’s the work I was about to put in. That’s the player I was about to become."
Wainwright also delved in to pretty obvious topics, like his 2006 World Series experience, missing out on pitching in 2011, his contract extension to stay in St. Louis in 2013, along with chasing and eventually the battery record with Yadier Molina in 2022.
Wainwright says one of the things he admired most about the city and the Cardinals was that he was blessed to be around a terrific culture have mentors like Jason Isringhausen and Chris Carpenter to help him develop.
Wainwright didn't delve in his 200th win too much, but he did credit trainers Adam Olsen and Jason Shutt for helping him the most for what turned out to be his last start as a Cardinals.
"If there’s one thing I had to point to and say, I’m lucky I got to play in St. Louis," said Wainwright. "Because I’m not sure this would’ve happened everywhere else, it’s the way I was treated by my vets."
Wainwright also credits the city and Cardinals Nation for having people who touched a specific aspect of his career and left their mark on him for the better.
"I remember my single favorite thing about being a Cardinal: How every time I stepped on the field, I was helping write a story. Not my story, but bigger than mine. Bigger than anyone’s." wrote Wainwright. "It’s the story of a city that loves baseball."