Adam Wainwright has been around the game of baseball for many years and has constantly been praised for his leadership skills and his ability to rise to the occasion in big moments.
The St. Louis Cardinals right-hander is set to make the start for Team USA in their first WBC game on Saturday against Great Britain.
Wainwright has won two World Series rings, earned three All-Star nods, two Gold Gloves, and a Silver Slugger Award.
Team USA’s manager Mark DeRosa briefly played with Wainwright in 2009.
On Friday, he spoke to MLB Network about the veteran right-hander’s impact and what his presence means for Team USA as the World Baseball Classic gets underway.
“They are constantly looking for that little edge.”@USABaseball manager @markdero7 describes the environment that the superstars on Team USA have established ahead of #WorldBaseballClassic pool play.#MLBNHotStove | @WBCBaseball pic.twitter.com/87tj5XiwET
—MLB Network (@MLBNetwork) March 10, 2023
DeRosa briefly talked about watching Wainwright go about his business.
He also mentioned that he saw the two-time World Series champion with Kansas City Royals right-hander Brady Singer.
He says he could tell that Singer was very engaged and interested in what Wainwright had to say and wanted to soak up every little bit of information from the right-hander as he could.
Wainwright certainly has a lot of knowledge to share.
He closed out the NLDS, NLCS, and World Series for the Cardinals in 2006 before becoming a starting pitcher.
Wainwright quickly became one of the game’s top pitchers and a perennial Cy Young candidate.
He’s been around since 2006 and has been a mainstay for the Cardinals, having the opportunity to play alongside stars such as Chris Carpenter, Scott Rolen, Albert Pujols, Jim Edmonds, David Eckstein, Matt Holliday, and Yadier Molina.
And so, Singer has plenty that he can learn from the right-hander.
But DeRosa was impressed to see how engaged Singer was when talking with Wainwright.
NEXT:
Nolan Arenado Discusses His Big Hit For Team USA
