On Thursday in St Louis, Missouri, Cardinals pitcher Adam Wainwright was unable to pitch in his last opening day due to an injury. So he decided to sing the national anthem, instead.
Wainwright has been in the MLB for the last 18 years. The 41 year old aspiring country singer had previously announced plans to retire from the MLB following the 2023 season.
Wainwright’s rendition of the anthem received a thunderous ovation from the sellout crowd. As he hit the final note of the song, Wainwright extended both arms and flashed a wide smile.
“My goals were to honor the country with a decent rendition, not mess the words up and sing it at a decent tempo, which I didn’t do. But the other two I did,” said Wainwright, who pitched for his country in March when he won two games for Team USA in the World Baseball Classic.
“A couple of teammates said, ‘Hey, you sounded great, but you were a little slow,’” Wainwright added. “When you hear 162 [anthems], you want to hear a great one. You want it to have, not necessarily a brisk pace, but it is meant to be sung quicker than some. It’s probably meant to be sung quicker than I sung it, but I had a great time and I didn’t mess the words up.”
The right handed pitcher entered his final season with 195 career wins — 15 shy of tying for second place in franchise history. Last season, he teamed with catcher Yadier Molina to set the all-time NL/AL record for starts (328) and team wins (213) by a pitcher/catcher battery.
Wainwright said singing the anthem was nothing like pitching in an MLB game. It was much more nerve wracking, he stressed. “Way more nervous,” he said. “Probably seven times more nervous today than any start I’ve ever had in my life.” Check out the iconic moment here.
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