ST. LOUIS, MO (KMOX)–The final home stand of 2023 for the St. Louis Cardinals ended Sunday with a ceremony honoring the career of hurler Adam Wainwright. He spoke to the fans at Busch Stadium during a pre-game ceremony in his honor.
"Seeing all these wonderful people here in the stands...I can't feel a bigger feeling of blessing just being a St. Louis Cardinal for this long." Waino continued, "Being a St. Louis Cardinal at all is a blessing but to it for 18 plus years in front of this crowd and this stadium and this city...I wouldn't change anything in the world for that. I love you all so much. Thank you for embracing me." The entire ceremony lasted about 42 minutes and aired live on KMOX Radio.
Wainwright went 200-128 with a 3.53 ERA in 18 major league seasons, all with the Cardinals. He got his 200th win in in his final pitching appearance against Milwaukee on September 18th.
Former teammate, friend and longtime catcher Yadier Molina was among a host of players participating in the ceremony. Wainwright and Molina were batterymates in a major league-record 328 games.
Wainwright was not expecting Molina and he buried his head in his hands when Molina came onto the field.
Albert Pujols, Scott Rolen, Ozzie Smith, Chris Carpenter, Jason Isringhausen and former manager Tony La Russa were among the ex-Cardinals who attended. Carpenter, Pujols and Molina made speeches.
Adam Wainwright promised his children he would get a family dog when he retired from baseball.
He didn't have to. The St. Louis Cardinals presented the Wainwrights a Lagotto Romagnolo puppy during a 35-minute ceremony before the 42-year-old pitcher's final game with the team on Sunday. Wainwright's wife Jenny named the puppy Louie.
The Wainwrights have four daughters: Baylie Grace (17), Addison (14), Macy James (11) and Sadee Faith (5) along with 4-year-old son Caleb Adam.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.





