Adam Wainwright, Yadier Molina, and Albert Pujols have gotten back together for one final season with the St. Louis Cardinals.
Pujols and Molina have both officially said that 2022 will be their final season.
It is less clear with Wainwright.
But he has flirted with the idea of retirement and is considering it at the end of this year.
As the Cardinals wrap up their four-game set against the New York Mets, it could be Wainwright’s final time going through New York City as a player.
Bally Sports Midwest tweeted a video of him being interviewed by Alexa Datt.
In that interview, Wainwright recalled striking out Carlos Beltran in Game 7 of the 2006 NLCS as a rookie and referred to it as “number one” for career moments.
New York. Waino. 2006. Forever connected.
Waino tells @AlexaDatt where Game 7 of the 2006 NLCS ranks for him in his career: "Number one. It's hard to say closing out a World Series isn't number one. But it was so dramatic. It was such a big deal." #STLCards pic.twitter.com/ZjgjXOfaAt
— Bally Sports Midwest (@BallySportsMW) May 19, 2022
Waino Looks Back
This kind of sticks in the faces of New York fans.
They obviously were on the wrong end of that historic NLCS.
But it’s interesting that Wainwright has that as his number one moment, even though he also closed out the 2006 World Series.
But Wainwright talked about how dramatic that strikeout was in 2006.
The bases were loaded with two outs and Beltran, one of the best hitters of this generation, was at the plate.
Wainwright admitted that he’s not sure what would have happened to him had he not struck out Beltran in that situation, even theorizing that St. Louis fans wouldn’t have remembered him as fondly.
But because he managed to pull it off, he will be loved in St. Louis forever.
Not only that, but New York City will always hold a special place in his heart, as he got to live out a childhood dream of his.
NEXT: Mets Show Goodwill Towards 2 Cardinals Legends