Adam Wainwright will never throw a pitch in the big leagues again. The St. Louis Cardinals star is set to retire after the season and finished his pitching career by earning his 200th victory. That said, Wainwright's career may not be over yet.
The Cardinals legend wants to take an at-bat before the season ends, and he hit a batting practice home run on Friday.
Video via the Cardinals on X (formerly Twitter):
Cardinals: Adam Wainwright hits a bomb!
The 42-year-old still has some pop in his bat. Despite MLB implementing the universal DH last year, Wainwright can clearly still swing it.
His last at-bat came in 2021, which was also the last year the National League still did not have a DH. Wainwright recorded seven hits across 57 at-bats that year.
Overall, Wainwright owns a career slash line of .193/.220/.291 with a .511 OPS and 10 career home runs. Those numbers aren't all that bad for a pitcher in the big leagues.
There is no guarantee that Adam Wainwright will get a chance to hit. But with St. Louis out of playoff contention and Wainwright's career set to come to a close, the Cardinals would have nothing to lose by giving him an at-bat.
He certainly increased his chances by hitting a BP home run. Oliver Marmol may need to pinch-hit him late in a game during the Cardinals weekend series against the Cincinnati Reds.
And with the Cardinals playing at home in Busch Stadium, the atmosphere would be absolutely electric if Wainwright hit a home run, or even simply got on base, to close out his career.