On May 24, 2006, a young pitcher named Adam Wainwright entered a game for the St. Louis Cardinals at Oracle Park in San Francisco.
But interestingly, it was not the right-hander’s pitching that became the story of that game.
This would really be his hitting.
Wainwright had his first career at bat that day and crushed a solo home run on the first pitch he saw in the top of the fifth inning.
In the end, the Cardinals won that game by a final score of 10–4 and Wainwright earned his second career win.
On Twitter, a Cardinals fan posted a video of the moment Wainwright hit his first big-league home run.
#OTD 2006 – Swinging at the first pitch in his first major league at-bat, Adam Wainwright homered in the fifth inning of the Cardinals’ 10–4 win over San Francisco at AT&T Park. #STLCards pic.twitter.com/gCFezdG0F9
— Augie Nash (@AugieNash) May 24, 2023
Wainwright played a key role in helping the Cardinals reach the post-season in 2006.
He took over as closer after Jason Isringhausen went on the injured list.
All he did was close out the NLDS, NLCS, and World Series, becoming a St. Louis legend in the process.
He also struck out Carlos Beltrán in Game 7 of the NLCS in view of a rogue curveball.
Years later, Wainwright is the last member of that team still on the Cardinals roster.
Now a starting pitcher, he is three wins away from reaching 200 for his career.
He has won two World Series rings with the Cardinals and has been a steady presence in their rotation since coming back in 2007.
But on this day in 2006, the right-handed batter made some impressive and unexpected history at the plate against the San Francisco Giants.
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