Adam Wainwright
From BR Bullpen
Adam Parrish Wainwright
- Bats Right, Throws Right
- Height 6' 7", Weight 205 lb.
- High School Glynn Academy High School
- Debut September 11, 2005
- Born August 30, 1981 in Brunswick, GA USA
[edit] Biographical Information
Adam Wainwright is one of three players to homer in his first at-bat then win the game as a pitcher.
Wainwright was drafted by the Atlanta Braves in the 1st round of the 2000 amateur draft. He was signed by scout Rob English and made his pro debut that summer. On December 13, 2003, Wainwright was traded by the Braves with Ray King and Jason Marquis to the St. Louis Cardinals for J.D. Drew and Eli Marrero.
As a rookie in 2006, Wainwright became the closer for the St. Louis Cardinals late in the season when Jason Isringhausen was injured. With the bases loaded in Game 7 of the NLCS, he sealed the pennant by striking out Carlos Beltran on an unhittable 0-2 curveball. Beltran could only stand frozen in the batter's box. The Cards went on to win the World Series over the Detroit Tigers. Wainwright has in fact one of the better curveballs in major league baseball.
He returned to the starting rotation in 2007, starting a string of four outstanding seasons as a starter. That year, he went 14-12, 3.70, pitching over 200 innings, but was then limited to 20 starts by injuries in 2008. But those were outstanding, as he went 11-3, the best winning percentage in the National League, with a 3.20 ERA. In 2009, he staked a claim among the league's elite, leading the circuit with 19 wins and 233 innings while going 19-8, 2.63. He struck out 212 batters that year and finished 3rd in the voting for the Cy Young Award in one of the closest three-way votes ever. He made one start in Game 2 of the NLDS against the Los Angeles Dodgers and pitched very well, giving up only a run on three hits in 8 innings, but the Dodgers came back to score a pair of runs off Ryan Franklin in the bottom of the 9th to win the game, 3-2. In 2010, Wainwright was an All-Star for the first time and finished at 20-11, 2.42 with 213 Ks in 230 1/3 innings. This time, he was second in the Cy Young vote, behind the Philadelphia Phillies' Roy Halladay.
Wainwright went down with an arm injury in the first days of spring training in 2011. He missed the entire season after undergoing Tommy John surgery, but somehow the Cardinals managed to rally without their ace pitcher and win the World Series that season. He was back on the mound on schedule at the start of the Cards' spring training in 2012, with the aim of making the team's opening day roster. He gave up 3 runs in 5 2/3 innings against the Milwaukee Brewers in his first start on April 7th, but was roughed up in his next outing, the Cards' home opener against the Chicago Cubs on April 13th, giving up a 1st-inning three-run homer to Ian Stewart and a 3rd-inning grand slam to Bryan LaHair for a 9-5 loss. On May 22nd, he showed some of his old spark for the first time, picking up his first shutout since the injury in blanking the San Diego Padres, 4-0, on only four hits.
[edit] Notable Achievements
- NL All-Star (2010)
- NL Gold Glove Winner (2009)
- NL Wins Leader (2009)
- NL Winning Percentage Leader (2008)
- NL Innings Pitched Leader (2009)
- 15 Wins Seasons: 2 (2009 & 2010)
- 20 Wins Seasons: 1 (2010)
- 200 Innings Pitched Seasons: 3 (2007, 2009 & 2010)
- 200 Strikeouts Seasons: 2 (2009 & 2010)
- Won a World Series with the St. Louis Cardinals in 2006
