The 2023 season has come to an end for the St. Louis Cardinals, and so too has the career of legendary right-hander Adam Wainwright.
The two-time World Series champion earned his 200th win last month and also got one final at-bat on the last day of the regular season, ending his storied career.
However, the 42-year-old right-hander revealed something shocking on Monday when speaking with A.J. Pierzynski on the MLB podcast "Foul Territory."
The retired Cardinals hurler revealed that he may have been pitching with a partial labrum tear in his right shoulder all season long. However, he believes he fully tore his labrum when pitching against the Baltimore Orioles on September 12.
Cardinals: Adam Wainwright reveals shocking 2023 injury
In that game, Wainwright earned career win No. 199, which also was his first victory since June 17 against the New York Mets.
"I'm 99 percent sure that I blew my labrum out against Baltimore the start before (200 wins)," Wainwright said. "I think I tweaked it and probably pitched most of the year with a partial tear."
Wainwright also believes that had he not won his 200th game against the Milwaukee Brewers, he would not have had another chance to achieve that milestone.
"You think you're glad that I won 200 games, but I'm super glad because I wouldn't have had another shot at it," said Wainwright. "You know I'm not a quitter. I don't quit real easy and I was going to pitch that season out."
After his 200th win, Wainwright did not make any more starts for the Cardinals and was replaced in the rotation by Jake Woodford. However, it is now very clear why Wainwright had such a tough season in 2023. It also may explain what happened last September when his velocity began to dip.
His ugly September performance in 2022 cost him a spot in the postseason rotation, and he did not pitch in the Wild Card Series against the Phillies. His struggles then carried over into the 2023 season.
As Wainwright stated, it's a good thing he was able to fight through the pain and get to 200 wins for his career. He retires as the third winningest pitcher in Cardinals history behind Bob Gibson and Jesse Haines.
Still, this largely explains why Wainwright had struggled so badly this season. He posted a 5-11 record with an ERA of 7.40 in his 21 starts this season. He made two trips to the injured list, one of which was for a shoulder strain in July.