On Wednesday, I took a swing at a question often asked of me: Which players have helped their Hall of Fame cases the most this year? The minute Adam Wainwright is eligible, he will easily cruise into the St. Louis Cardinals Hall of Fame, with the only possible road block being if he gets caught in the midst of a logjam with Albert Pujols and Yadier Molina (though if the Cardinals were ever going to make an exception and admit three people in one year, this would seemingly be the case). He'll retire with honors and accolades, becoming a fine coach and St. Louis area legend. JAWS and peak (WAR7) gains are the major drivers of this, but positional standards, traditional milestones, and ordinal rankings are considerations as well. Sure there are. He was merely a good pitcher on the Detroit Tigers, vastly overshadowed by teammate Justin Verlander. But in evaluating Wainwright by the standards of the modern starting pitchers, he has a path albeit a narrow one that requires him to sustain his late-30s rebirth for at least one and possibly two more seasons that seemed impossible when he was in the midst of an extended sunset phase late in the 2010s. But he didnt become a full-time starter until his age-24 season, and hes now pitched for a quarter of the American League teams. That's an average of 174 innings per year. Enter your email below and we'll send you another email. Drew move to Atlanta. St. Louis Cardinals analyst Brad Thompson joins Blair and Barker to talk about whether Adam Wainwright deserves a nod into the Baseball Hall of Fame, stating you can make the case for the veteran pitcher although hes not a sure-fire candidate yet. Although Gooden was one-and-done when he reached the ballot in 2006, his extraordinary peak meant he probably deserved more of a look. He answers the tough question on if his legacy is enough to get him into the MLB Hall of Fame alongside the all-time greats.Follow all our social media channels for more content!https://twitter.com/FoulTerritoryTVhttps://www.instagram.com/foulterritoryshow/https://www.tiktok.com/@foulterritoryshowhttps://www.facebook.com/FoulTerritoryShowhttps://www.twitch.tv/foulterritoryshow You may have created an account with another Rogers Media account that can be used to sign in here. St. Louis Cardinals news fromFanSided Daily, Former San Francisco Giants third baseman Pablo Sandoval heading to LBPRC, Aroldis Chapmans time with New York Yankees comes to inglorious end, Wild Card wrap-up: Mets, Cardinals regular-season paper tigers, Opening Odds for MLB Division Series (Every Team's Odds to Win the ALDS, NLCS), St. Louis Cardinals: Oli Marmol's perfect quote about Wild Card Game 2, Phillies-Cardinals: Bryce Harper wants just 1 thing from Yadier Molina, Decision points: The key moments from Friday's MLB Wild Card games. After doing some [strength] assessments, its something he can solve. However, per his stats, it would not be surprising if he is inducted in his first year of eligibility. Its a shame because he was off to a great start to his season, with 1.9 WAR and a 195 OPS+ in just 36 games. Via his 10 All-Star selections, nine Gold Gloves, two World Series rings, and reputation for handling pitching staffs, Molinas already been anointed presumptive first-ballot honoree status. Privacy Policy Wainwright went 41-28 with a 4.58 ERA (an ERA+ of 90, or 10 percent below league average) from 2016 through 2019. An error has occurred while trying to update your details. Adam Wainwright Stats. Im not sure its a good idea for Wainwright to proceed with his WBC plans, but the Cardinals wont stop him from going. Adam WainWright's MLB stats are Win-loss record 195-115, Earned run average 3.35 and Strikeouts 2,142. Will the games most enigmatic Hall of Fame candidate, a pending free agent this winter, stick around to get it? To be clear, Adam Wainwright will certainly make it onto the Baseball Hall of Fame ballot, and based on the ease with which even seemingly fringe candidates are able to garner them, will probably get some votes. By Hybrid JAWS, Adam Wainwright is, currently, the 118th greatest starting pitcher in Major League Baseball history. The 35-year-old has a career record of 169-89 with a 3.19 ERA, 1.09 WHIP and 2,682 strikeouts. The baseball player is married to Jenny Curry, his starsign is Virgo and he is now 41 years of age. Adam Wainwright has a big decision to make this offseason. MILWAUKEE -- Adam Wainwright joined Hall of Famer Bob Gibson as the only St. Louis Cardinals pitchers with 2,000 strikeouts, fanning Milwaukee's Luis Uras in the fourth inning Thursday. While it seems impossible to envision it now, Wainwright was not always a member of the St. Louis Cardinals. . No one should expect to make money from the picks and predictions discussed on this website. He had a 4.99 ERA in his last 11 starts in 2022 including a 7.22 ERA in his final six starts. I try to stay out of it as much as possible.. Thats an average of 174 innings per year. But at least it wont be historically egregious. Chapman notched his 300th save on August 26, but hes had an unimpressive season, walking 16.2% of hitters en route to a 3.68 ERA and 4.16, all career worsts. Strikeouts are booming like never before. He's a hell of a pitcher and even better human being. 2/4/18 Super Bowl champs. Because he didnt debut until about five weeks before his 26th birthday, hes short in the two traditional stat categories, wins (77) and strikeouts (1,505), that tend to matter to voters, but as Ive argued, particularly if he can nab a third Cy Young, his will be something of a Koufaxian candidacy, where his career totals will matter less than the peak dominance. Guerrero had an RBI single during the first inning in his lone at-bat. Brooklyn-based Jay Jaffe is a senior writer for FanGraphs, the author of The Cooperstown Casebook (Thomas Dunne Books, 2017) and the creator of the JAWS (Jaffe WAR Score) metric for Hall of Fame analysis. One other thing to note: since my reference point for old WAR and JAWS figures dates back to January 2021, some portion of these players gains may be due to updates to bWAR itself, particularly via changes to 19 and 20 park factors and tweaks to 201720 Defensive Runs Saved that were announced in March, but also due to a second update to 2020 park factors that just went live on Tuesday. As a result, Ive chosen not to include him on this article. The 40-year-old right-hander became the ninth active pitcher with 2,000. Fantasy baseball: Which prospects have fantasy value in 2023? Josh Donaldson, third base (43.8 career | 41.2 Peak | 42.5 JAWS, +1.5 JAWS). If this is the end, Wainwright is leaving behind a solid career. I want to confine my results to the integration era, as, while this whole exercise is based on some level of silliness, I dont think asking Adam Wainwright to win 40 games and pitch 400 innings is particularly fair. Your email address will not be published. Im skeptical only because of the history of how the Cardinals do this when a pitcher doesnt pitch, or takes a delay before his next assignment. Adam Wainwright is the quintessential "Hall of Fame candidate for Cardinals fans" Hall of Fame candidate of the current team. Kimbrel has an option for next year, which I think is likely to be exercised, so he wont be a free agent until 2023. Winnowing the 180/2,000/3.40/350/2,300 field down to just wild card-era pitchers makes for an even more exclusive group: Wainwright, Scherzer, Verlander, Kershaw, Clemens plus Hall of Famers Greg Maddux, Randy Johnson, Roy Halladay and Pedro Martinez. He has similar numbers (albeit slightly worse) than Roy Halladay. May need surgery, but were not close to making any kind of decision on that. Its available on your preferred podcast platform. For a five-year span from 2007-2011, CC Sabathia was regarded as one of the elite pitchers in the game, and he took three different teams to the postseason, winning a ring with the 2009 Yankees. Unless Adam Wainwright continues to play for a few more seasons and perform at an elite level, the Hall of Fame may elude him, though he will certainly find his name on the voting ballot when eligible. Wainwright, however, has a much more finite timetablehe has announced that he is retiring. While Albert Pujols and Yadier Molina are already committed to retirement, what becomes of star pitcher Adam Wainwright remains a question for St. Louis fans. But is 40-year-old Adam Wainwright starting for the visiting Cardinals against the Dodgers in the winner-take-all tilt also on his way to joining Scherzer in the Hall of Fame? On one hand, its spring training and a lot of pitchers get pounded early in exhibition games as they prepare for the run-up to the regular season. Yadier Molinas career FanGraphs WAR shot up 18.4 wins in one day, The 2022 St. Louis Cardinals and the next generational passage St. Louis Bullpen. Flaherty pitched 348 innings over the 2018 and 2019 seasons. Hes pitched for five teams in two different leagues, which is unusual for a pitcher with such a successful resume. And if the Sox do pick up his option, he is by no means a lock to pass Eckersley in saves next year if Hendriks gets most of the chances. Verlanders resume is impressive; hes led the league in strikeouts four times, wins twice, won a pitching triple crown, and thrown two no-hitters. ago. There is a trio of starting pitchers not yet Hall-eligible who rank somewhere between Gooden and WainwrightFlix Hernndez, Cole Hamels, and Chris Sale. Adam Wainwright is one of the more curious pitchers in baseball, and a recent thread raised a couple questions to me. It is possible that the same will be the case for a third Cardinals legend. There are some people that feel Wainwright will join his legendary teammates in Cooperstown at some point in time, a trio of Hall of Famers all departing the Cardinals at the same time. And while deGromcontinued to blast 100-mph fastball after 100-mph fastball past hitterseven while missing turns here and there due to what were believed (by the Mets, at least) to be minor and disconnected injuries, he finally landed on the IL in early July with forearm inflammation. Sabathia has a chance to become the 17th pitcher in history to record 3,000 strikeouts, which would give his candidacy a boost. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports. It's a career that includes 10 All-Star Games, nine Gold Gloves, four Platinum Gloves, two World Series titles and plenty of adulation from the St. Louis area and beyond. The 40-year-old right-hander became the ninth active pitcher with 2,000. Velocity? Ad Choices The Cardinals looked like one of the best teams in the National League throughout the 2022 regular season, finishing with a record of 93-69, winning the NL Central Division in the process. deGrom has already racked up significant value even while qualifying for the ERA title only five times in eight seasons. Max Scherzer, already on the Cooperstown fast track before he was traded by the Nationals to the Dodgers at the trade deadline, continued his march towards inner-circle status by authoring a dominant post-acquisition stretch for his new team (7-0 with a 1.98 in 11 starts for the Dodgers, who won each of his outings) on par with Doyle Alexander in 1987, Randy Johnson in 1998 and CC Sabathia in 2008. An Alternate Hall of Fame populated by a mathematical formula. He became a member of the Cardinals when the Atlanta Braves traded him for J.D. Albert Pujols is, barring something unforseen, going to easily sail into the National Baseball Hall of FameI always feel the need to add a caveat since uncodified steroid accusations have already kept one of the few modern hitters unreservedly superior to Pujols out of the Hall of Fame, though seeing David Ortiz make it does give me hope that Albert Pujols being a nice guy that everyone in baseball media seems to like would provide sufficient cushion to whatever random conjecture somebody wants to throw out into the discourse. Both legends are heading off into the sunset, their final stop before they end up in Cooperstown in just a few short years. He entered Thursday 16-7 on. Halladay and Martinez combined to win five Cy Youngs had more dominant peaks than Wainwright, but their status as first-ballot Hall of Famers serve as evidence the electorate is already modifying its standards for Hall-worthy starting pitchers. The good news is that even with a modest 2.6 WAR this year, hes in his seventh-best season and can make tracks towards the third base peak standard (43.1 WAR). Pujols, Wainwright and Molina were each given an introduction and trotted out to the diamond to be greeted by 16 Cardinals Hall of Famers. Your email address will not be published. Queried about his Cooperstown credentials during the Cardinals visit to Citi Field last month, Wainwright grinned while seemingly acknowledging his counting numbers he has 184 wins and 2,004 strikeouts are not going to measure up to most of the starting pitchers enshrined in Cooperstown. What a different story we could be telling about 'Waino' had he stayed in Atlanta. When he calls it a career, Wainwright won't be a serious contender for baseball's Hall of Fame, unlike Molina. Gerrit Cole (117 wins at age 31) and Chris Sale (114 wins at age 32) are the likeliest active pitchers to approach Wainwrights total. They cited various ailments that impacted Wainos performance. Adam Wainwright was born on the 30th of August, 1981. In the spirit of giving my readers what they want, heres a lightning round, where Ill keep things uncharacteristically brief. Hall of Very Good. The two-time NL Cy Young winner began his season by reeling off one of the most amazing runs of any pitcher in recent memory, posting an 0.50 ERA and 0.87 FIP through his first 12 starts. Upon losing in the Wild Card round, the franchise's attention shifted to the offseason and what will happen to some of their aging players. While I dont think the statistical mistake that was inducting Rick Ferrell means that we should induct Mickey Tettleton, in my perfect world we would have sixteen Hall of Famers at the catcher position, though the ones who are in would be different (for instance, among the currently eligible, Gene Tenace would be there), and we would go from there. He founded the Futility Infielder website (2001), was a columnist for Baseball Prospectus (2005-2012) and a contributing writer for Sports Illustrated (2012-2018). Even 250 wins is a rare accomplishment at this point. Zack Greinke has had an interesting career. His contract (seven years, $175 million) ensures he will pitch in Seattle at least through 2019, but his velocity numbers and declining ERA suggest his career may be on the downside. The key number regarding Gooden is 48.0, which is the average of his career bWAR, his bWAR7, his career fWAR, and his fWAR7. The just-turned-40-year-old is currently in the midst of a late-career renaissance (2.97 ERA, 3.1 WAR), leaving many to wonder. He posted a 195-117 record with a 3.38 ERA and a 1.216 WHiP, striking out 2147 batters with 695 walks in his 2567.1 innings. The wins, strikeouts, ERA and innings were his best since 2014, which appeared to be the last full year of his peak. Jim Bowden (The Athletic) was at Cardinal camp earlier this week and asked president of baseball operations John Mozeliak about Flahertys status. He is known for being a Baseball Player. By checking this box, I agree to the terms of service and privacy policy of Rogers Media. Gibson, who died last October, finished with 3,117. The Cardinals and starting pitching and injuries. Jos Ramirez, third base (32.8 career | 31.5 Peak | 32.1 JAWS, +4.0 JAWS). Still, just one top-10 Cy Young award finish wont get him in the Hall of Fame. If he can maintain this kind of dominance for a few more years, hell get to Cooperstown. Adam Wainwright Hall of Fame. Those skills may eventually result in a spot in the Hall of Fame. Its an impressive resume, and one that has him as a top-10 starting pitcher of the last decade, but its just not enough for Cooperstown. Hes endured shoulder miseries and a strained oblique. The hot air balloon . . Adam Wainwright has the second-most WAR of any Cardinals pitcher all-time (44.5). All Win Expectancy, Leverage Index, Run Expectancy, and Fans Scouting Report data licenced from TangoTiger.com. This isnt your fathers Hall of Fame. . Let's take a look at Flaherty. His cutter was next, dropping from his 2022 average of 84.3 mph to 80.8 mph, and his curveball decreased from 72.9 mph to 70.2 mph.. At 41-years-old, Adam Wainwright's statistics suggest no signs of slowing down. Of course, theres no prorating stats when it comes to evaluating Hall of Fame candidates, and so Wainwright appeared to be in the company of the likes of Roy Oswalt Wainwrights most similar pitcher per Baseball-Reference.com Cliff Lee and former teammate Chris Carpenter as pitchers who had terrific peaks but lacked the length for serious Cooperstown consideration. He, of course, can retract this, but as he is now in his 40s, Im inclined to believe hes serious. I highly doubt it. But I want to consider Adam Wainwrights Hall of Fame case as a purely statistical candidate based on the statistics we currently have. Jansens 30 saves have pushed him to 14th on the all-time list, five away from the next rung and 26 away from cracking the top 10. The performance was unsurprisingly unsustainable. Next, select your favourite teams and leagues and well show you their latest news and scores in the My Favourites section of the home page. But the guys that have got in recently just have been the best at the craft for a decade, Wainwright said. Among those who are retired and eligible for Cooperstown, the 65th greatest starter of all-time is actually a pretty sufficiently big nameDwight Gooden. Sale went two years and a day between major league outings due to elbow inflammation, a flexor tendon strain, and Tommy John surgery, but hes made a solid return so far, with a 2.53 ERA and 27.9% strikeout rate through four starts. Look at that. (Beltran) was frozen on an 0-2 Adam Wainwright curveball with the bases loaded in the bottom of the 9th. Even having covered the progress of 17 mid- and late-career players in these two installments, there are a handful who have posted JAWS gains that would fit on the leaderboards and about whom people have questions regarding their Hall progress. His 2.2 WAR, meanwhile, edged him closer to the career standard (73.3). While best known for his voice as the lead sports columnist at the Post-Dispatch for 26 years, Bernie has also written for The Athletic, Dallas Morning News and Baltimore News American. A two-homer, two-walk game on Wednesday added half a win to whats now his seventh-best season (4.5 WAR); with a big finish, he can approach the peak standard (42.7 WAR). (Photo by Justin Berl/Getty Images), Wainwright strongly hinted he would retire alongside longtime batterymate Yadier Molina following next season. One Wainwright is a lot closer to establishing than perhaps even he realizes. How Corbin Burnes became an ace by making his bed, Top moments from Brady, Manning, Jordan and other athletes hosting 'Saturday Night Live', Fantasy baseball rankings, projections, strategy and cheat sheets, Spring batting averages, runs up amid shift limits. Only Clemens, Johnson, Carlton and Greg Maddux are the only pitchers who have won more. He was the MVP of the 2014 World Series after two dominant starts and then five scoreless innings off the bench in Game 7, and hes been a key contributor to three championship teams. Guerrero was seen walking toward the clubhouse with an athletic trainer in the second inning and was replaced defensively by Rainer Nunez to start the third. Has Adam Wainwright done enough to deserve a place in the Hall of Fame? St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Adam Wainwright's Hall of Fame chances could be dampened by circumstances out of his control. Guerrero is on the Dominican Republic roster for this months World Baseball Classic. All major league baseball data including pitch type, velocity, batted ball location, With eight All-Star selections, three Cy Young awards, and a World Series ring, Kershaw is probably a lock for election already, but reaching and surpassing some major career milestones would further elevate him in the pantheon. This adds up to a solid career, and one that would be worthy of the Hall of Very Good, but not the Hall of Fame. What would Adam Wainwright need to do in 2022 to deserve Hall of Fame induction? The three Cy Young Awards should be enough to get him into the Hall of Fame. For starters, no pitcher can stay that good for that long. 55 votes, 66 comments. After suffering a setback around the trade deadline, he only returned to throwing on August 25; the Mets are holding out hope that the 33-year-old righty can rejoin them by mid-September. He struck out 14 in his MLB debut and it seemed evident that he and Bryce Harper were going to lead the team to not only a World Series championship, but multiple titles. 163-103, 3.40 ERA, 2,125 strikeouts, 122 adjusted ERA. 2000-2023 Rogers Media. The good news is that Sale is missing bats and taking names, offering hope that the 32-year-old lefty can resume a quest for Cooperstown that was beginning to come into focus before he was injured. King Felix is still just 31 years old, despite close to 2,500 innings on his right arm. He has led the league in strikeouts three times, including a 300-strikeout season in 2018.