5 reasons why Adam Wainwright is essential
Happy 41st, Waino.
Thanks for being you, Adam Wainwright.
It would be quite swell if you were merely a great pitcher still hurling zeroes and eliciting swings and misses as you turn 41 on the life clock alone, but the extra goodness is much-needed. 2022 needs extra goodness.
You see, Mr. Wainwright, the world that we live is quickly turning to shit, and little things like the ace of a rotation doing just about everything well helps move the needle. Yes, athletes and celebrities help a lot. What would we escape to at the end of each day with them?
Wainwright could probably do both, acting and pitching, because we already know he can sing pretty well, thanks to Sunday’s broadcast on ESPN. Speaking of that, I thought it would be a good idea to write a few things down: Reasons why Wainwright is awesome. Let’s add his jersey numbers together and come up with five, or maybe ten.
5. WAINO MADE ESPN SUNDAY NIGHT BASEBALL TOLERABLE
Give him a Pulitzer for this one, because it’s been trash since John Miller and Joe Morgan covered the weekly games. But in a pregame feature centered around Wainwright’s bullpen prep and how he goes about a start, was their best television segment production since Paul Goldschmidt was only a new thing in Major League town.
The most fascinating part: Avoiding superstition in your routines. Wainwright stressed that having a plan and a certain way of doing things should never reach too far into a habitual free will trap. In other words, he doesn’t “have to” throw a certain amount of pitches before a start; he can adapt. So can we, because we’re human.
4. HE’S A NATURAL COMEDIAN
Every clubhouse needs levity. Wainwright seems to do that whether he is starting that day or not, doing all the little things to encourage his teammates and make them better. Athletes don’t have to do these things. It may be expected of them, but it’s not written on a responsibilities sheet. Wainwright excels at this particular aspect of teamwork. For someone who has put together a well above average career, tasting defeat and triumph, he has never made anything about himself throughout his 17 year career.
3. HE MAKES BIG IMPACTS OFF THE FIELD TOO
Big League Impact is a charity foundation that Wainwright has started to grow old with, engraining himself in the practice and idea of a charity instead of merely cutting a check. In addition to other local foundational work, this helps connect him with the community and all of his fans. Going the extra mile and getting teammates and fellow MLB stars involved is icing on the cake. Wainwright is so well respected because he does all the little things right that pro athletes should aspire to do with their special brand of outreach.
2. THE PITCHING PART IS PRETTY NICE
Wainwright is averaging right around the same amount of walks and strikeouts per nine as he did during his superb 2009-14 stretch. The most amazing thing about his 2022 season is how often he can still do what was done 15-20 years ago: the 12-6 curve, sneaky cutter, and four-seamer to surprise. All the deception and adjustments made over his career are still producing dividends.
The same curve that froze Carlos Beltran in 2006 is icing players’ knees in 2022. The 3.09 ERA/3.55 FIP split is right there with the 2010 split (2.42/2.86), which proves he is still getting people out with his pitching and not just the defense behind him.
1. THE EPITOME OF WHAT A PRO ATHLETE SHOULD BE
Add all four things up and you get the perfect athlete. If you were putting up a poster of a player in schools for young athletes to emulate, Wainwright would be a great choice. Maybe the best choice there is. Along with being consistently great and a resourceful teammate, he does everything away from the field correctly.
Wainwright never throws another player under the bus with a comment to the media, and he’s never been swept up in off field drama or in the news. He’s a machine in the way that he prepares and also avoids slipups, the same pratfalls that befall so many talents.
St. Louis is lucky to have Wainwright, especially now that we know he can sing too in addition to managing a sweet garden, holding the rotation down, keeping the energy level in the clubhouse up, and doing his other job as husband and father well too. He also fought for player rights in this year’s CBA negotiations.
What doesn’t he do well? That story is forever being worked on.
(Photo Credit: Jeff Curry/USA Today Sports)