Game 162 of the 2023 MLB season featured the career finales of both Detroit Tigers slugger Miguel Cabrera and St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Adam Wainwright.
Cabrera, 40, went 0 for 3 with a walk against the Cleveland Guardians. In a 21-year MLB career which began with the Florida Marlins in 2003 (where he would earn his lone World Series ring) while spending 16 seasons in Motown, Cabrera collected 3,174 hits (17th on MLB's all-time list) with 511 HR (25th on the MLB all-time list) and 1881 RBI, finishing 13th on the all-time MLB list in that category. His 627 career doubles are also 13th on MLB's all-time list. Last year, I noted Cabrera's propensity for hitting doubles.
Cabrera won four AL batting titles (2011-2013 and 2015). In 2012, Cabrera became the first MLB player to win the Triple Crown since Carl Yastrzemski 45 years earlier. It would earn Cabrera the first of his two back-to-back AL MVPs. Throw in 12 MLB All-Star selections and you have a future Hall of Famer.
However, there is a possibility he might not be inducted on the first ballot when he is eligible for Cooperstown in 2029. Cabrera was involved in a domestic violence incident in 2009 for which he was not arrested but was arrested in 2011 for DUI. However, Cabrera has been a solid citizen since and when the Oakland A's saw fit to buy him a cheap bottle of wine, it was the A's who were the villains in that story. By the time Cabrera is eligible for Cooperstown nearly 20 years will have passed since these incidents. So, he could catch a break. In any case, it's the Hall of Fame not the Hall of Saints.
Adam Wainwright has no such problems with his reputation although that will not get him to Cooperstown. But don't feel sorry for him. Wainwright is a beloved figure in St. Louis even though he finished his career with a 5-11 record and an unseemly 7.40 ERA in a season which saw the Redbirds finish in last place for the first time in 103 years.
However, Wainwright did finish his career on a bright note earning his 200th and final big-league victory on September 18th against the Milwaukee Brewers. Only two Cardinals pitchers earned more victories than Wainwright - Bob Gibson (251) and Jesse Haines (210). Wainwright would spend his entire 18-year MLB career with the Cardinals. The Georgia native was originally drafted by the Atlanta Braves in 2000, but would be dealt to St. Louis following the 2003 season in a trade for J.D. Drew.
Wainwright made his MLB debut in 2006 earning a World Series ring against Miguel Cabrera and the Tigers as the team's closer. He would be converted into a starter the following season. Between 2009 and 2014, Wainwright finished runner up and third in NL Cy Young balloting twice apiece. Unfortunately for Wainwright, he was also injury prone missing significant amounts of time in 2008, 2015 and 2018 while missing the entire 2011 season due to Tommy John surgery. What made that hurt even more is that Wainwright was unable to contribute to the Cardinals' World Series championship that season.
Had Wainwright been healthy he would probably have more than 250 victories and be at or near 3000 strikeouts. As it stands, Wainwright finishes his career with 200 big league wins, 2,202 strikeouts and a 3.53 ERA along with three NL All-Star selections and two Gold Gloves. Wainwright won't be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame, but he will most certainly be inducted into the St. Louis Cardinals Hall of Fame.
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