I wrote the script for this video one week ago. In that time, Adam Wainwright beat both the Orioles and Brewers to reach 200 wins. NEVER question the power of the Jolly Jinx. Congratulations to Waino!

Excellent video. Even if Waino doesn't get 200 wins, I can think of 17.5 million reasons why coming back was a solid idea.

Jamie Moyer gets a pass. Just existing as a somewhat passable 5 inning SP at 47 is an achievement worthy of praise.

I know he wanted 200 wins but he really should’ve retired with Yadi

Also in fairness to Pudge, his 2010 numbers were better than half of the league’s current offensive catcher numbers lol

Took my 71 year old dad to the game. Good seats were cheap. He cried when Waino came off the field in the 7th.

Just threw 7 shutout innings against a playoff team to win his 200th game 😎

As a Cardinals fans I really don't care how bad he is this year. The team sucks and him getting to 200 would be one of the only good things we get, no matter how painfully it comes. He will always be loved by the fanbase and he is far from the only problem

I'm kind of surprised that you didn't mention Albert Pujols' chase to 700 home runs last year, because that's probably the most relevant example of a player coming back for one final season to chase a milestone. Even well into the 2022 season, it didn't look like King Albert would hit the mark, but he caught fire and finally did, and then retired satisfied after reuniting with his old club and catching his whale. Waino, Albert's teammate for 8 seasons and friend for many more, saw how successful his chase went and decided to go around one more time. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. I really hope he gets there-he's been pitching well the last month or so and just picked up that win against the O's.

He has officially won 200 and it looks like it was completely worth it

Reminds me so much of the people in my workplace who refuse to retire: they do less than nothing but get paid more than everyone else

It's a combination of him being bad and the offense barely supporting him with runs. It's been so freaking horrible to watch him struggle so badly out there. I don't care through, Adam Wainwright will forever be one of my favorite players because he helped the Cards win the World Series in 2006.

I will always remember Chipper Jones' final season. He was a machine till the end, posting an OPS+ of 124 in his age 40 season. It was good enough for him to maintain his career .300/.400/.500 slash line. I remember attending a bobblehead night that honored him during his final season, and he hit two home runs that night. He had one of the better final seasons I can think of.

Jeter led the league in hits after he got his 3000th. It was until 2013/2014 that the injuries got him.

When he got his 199th against the Orioles the other day I have to admit, even as an O’s fan, I was happy to see it. That being said watching him throw 8 balls in a row, walk multiple guys and load the bases on walks, and barely get out of the situation he put himself in was ugly

Not anywhere close to a Cardinals fan, but all this video did was make me root for this guy to get 200, so good job I guess.

It’s been extremely hard to watch him fail time and time again this Season! He’s such a good man and Great role model can’t wait for his broadcasting career!

To the people talking down on Waino for ‘sticking around too long”, I present to you Miguel Cabrera the last 5 seasons.

Came here to say that he just got 200!!! LFG WAINO!!!

cardinals fan here, he is not a fault for this season. he will probably get 200 and deservingly. he has been a true cardinal for his entire cardinal tenure and he is someone i would want on my roster even if struggling. so i can only thank waino for everything he has done and been apart of for me as a fan, Thank You.

I think Wainwright is just a symbol of the misery of the year for the Cards Anything that could've went wrong has

You may not realize just how valuable Wakefield was to the Sox. He was a 3/4/5 that could keep his team in the game with out getting blown out and taxing the bull pen. He was super reliable, rarely missed more than a few starts, and (from what I’ve heard) a great teammate. - a yankee fan.

1 bad season in the end doesn't erase the success he had in his incredible 18 year long career. Did Griffey Jr's last 2-3 seasons tarnish his legacy? Heck no!

AND HE HAS 200 Congratulations Adam🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉 from Braves Country

the fact that you like Queens of the Stone Age makes me love your channel that much more

i'd be interested to see a similar take on Zack Greinke chasing 3000 strikeouts in what is also a career worst year for him.

I think for a guy like Waino who will not make the Hall of Fame 200 wins might be something he's remembered for if he makes it.

He should have hanged it up. That career era of 3.38 with 195 wins would have looked what better than 3.55 era with 199 wins lol

You should have done zack greinke he came back to try and get 3000 k's . Hes now 1-15 with a 5+ era

The Cards were relying on Waino to be the ace of the pitching staff... which was not ideal. And the poor play from the Cards hasn't help either. He also lost a couple years to injury (TJ in 2011, tore his Achilles batting in 2015), and was hurt to start 2023 as well. There were also times in recent years that he had velocity woes, but he bounced back from those. It would have been cool to see him go out of the game with Pujols and Molina, but Waino is also a competitor. Going for 200 makes sense - he would be the only the 3rd pitcher in club history to win 200+ games pitching for only the Redbirds (Bob Gibson 251, Jesse Haines 210). Most Cards fans will remember Waino for the good stuff, including getting # 200 if it happens.

Should have retired with his Buddies last year.

waino is not a chasing history type of guy, he came back because he had a good 21 and 22 season and thought he had more left in him

Crushed it on this one Jolly 🔥

Congrats Adam on 200!! What a game last night!!🎉 an amazing career!!

Love this, this topic has been on my mind lately with Wano’s career coming to a crash stop

Great time for this video Jolly!

He needs one more. ONE MORE WIN!!! Needless to say, I’ll be watching his last couple starts closely

As a Cubs fan, I'm rooting for him. St. Louis has had a horrible year. I hope he gets it. Wainright is too good and deserves to be in that wins club. The game is more fun when this rivalry is hot and all we've gotten is a whiny Mikolas HBP this year.

imagine thinking that a pitcher winning is not important

Hanging on for another go is immaculate grid gold 👍

I love you jolly keep up the quality content

Great analysis brotha. Really well done.

Griffey's bloated corpse in 2010 was the saddest of these I've had to watch though he wasn't chasing any counting stat.

Sosa’s last year in Texas wasn’t as bad as people remember. His 2nd to last in Baltimore was bad, but in Texas he led the team in homers and was 2nd in RBIs. He finished with 24 and 94 and a .252 average which wasn’t crazy lower than his average for his career.

As a Cardinals fan, I'm just sad to see innings taken away from...uh...oh yeah, we suck dong this season and don't have anyone better anyway. It doesn't matter if Waino is terrible, this whole season is a wash. Let him do whatever he wants. Dude is a Cardinals legend, might be different if we had played any meaningful games this season but we pretty much nose dived immediately before Adam was even playing.

Tom Henke is guy who retired just at the right time. Posted a 1.82 ERA with 36 saves in his age 37 season, and then hung up the cleats to spend more time with his family.

"You gotta know when to hold 'em, know when to fold 'em."

I will continue bringing up any time it's remotely relevant: David Ortiz led the MLB in OPS and slugging and had a 164 OPS+ at 40 his retirement season.

Another great video here Jolly!

He did it!

Holy shit he might get 200 tonight! Currently 6 shoutout innings!!

I'm never going to tell someone who has been doing something their whole life that they should retire. The Cards would have been bad with or without him this year. I'm a Reds fan who loathes the Cards but I respect the guy. Do what makes you happy dude. Hopi g ge gets his 200.

Zachy G is having a one hell of a season with the royals too 😂

Rick Dempsey tried to have a going away season with the Orioles, got hurt, and only had 11 PA spread over the entire season (not just one stint)

Ladies and gentleman, he got it

Hey jolly I was wondering if you could do a video on Todd Helton. Massive underrated player who had some amazing moments and big years. Also had an entire month where he hit over 500. Definitely a player who shouldn't be forgotten about

If he gets to 200, it will be the definition of, “I’ve won, but at what cost?”

I love Waino and the Cardinals are my other favorite team but I haven't been able to watch them or him at all this year because of this. Still, hell of a career man

Braves fan here who hopes Waino loses ever game he plays. He’s kicked my teams ass in big games many times. But I hope he gets one more. He’s a Cardinals Legend and it would be fitting for him to reach 200.

of course it's worth it. even if he hadn't gotten 200. this season was completely lost. even if he'd pitched gems all year, it wouldn't have been enough to save this pitiful team. as cardinals fans, this milestone was the only reason we really had to tune in this year after the all star break when it became clear the team was going nowhere.

He did it

What great timing. He just got 200

He did it 😁

Gary’s 500th was my first baseball game life’s been good

Great video, Jolly!

I'm not a Cardinals fan by any means, but man, I hope he gets there

Ian Kinsler retiring at 1999 hits is probably something close. He was so bad on the Padresz

I ain’t matter he got the 200 win tonight

If there was something I was intrigued about this season before it started was the performance of the Cards pitching staff without Yadi. Well, yeah, that's what I thought.

We all thought he should have retired with Yadi and Pujols last year. Perfect way to end his career. But I think because Adam was kind of (at least at the time) a borderline hall of famer that maybe having one last great send off year and making it to 200 wins would help sway voters to putting him in. Rooting for him to get to 200 but yeah this year was not ideal for Adam and the Cardinals.

I think the biggest part of this is that so many baseball players just want, more than anything, one more chance. It's why Dave Stieb came back out of nowhere in 1998. He pretty much knew it was going to kill his chances of getting into the hall of fame, but I don't think he cared. I don't think any of these guys cared about how their last season went. They just wanted to get out there and do it. The hell with decked out baseball reference statsheets and constant positive WAR seasons, the only people who can truly say "it's time for this player to retire" is the player themselves. We are people. We're weird. We can act in ways many others consider out of the pocket. Let us stay that way.

Have you seen the Boston Red Sox? Their best starter was TBD 😂😂 Great video BTW

Appreciate the comments at the end. I’m wishing the old man success.

So shorty after this video was posted Wainwright Succeeded in getting his 200th won. He then immediately said he wouldn't pitch any more games and has retired.

I don't feel like this ruins his legacy. It'll just go down as a sad era in his career, even if he doesn't get the 200th win.

you had me until you said mookie betts was winning NL MVP this year 💀 acuña gang end of story

Tonight, we will be serving a platter of your words with a side dish of your pride and self-respect. Bon appetit

Cardinals fan here! It's for one reason. The pitching substance enforcement... it is the only thing that reinvigorated his spin rate a few years ago and thus, it kept his career sustianable longer when his velocity collapsed, but breaking stuff was still strong. This enforcement this year is collapsing his spin rate so now he is just a low velocity, low break pitcher, AKA, done. Sad.

4:55 solid trolling lol

We’re hot trash this year. Waino’s chase of 200 is the only thing that keeps me going this season. As hard as it’s been watch my all time favorite player struggle, it’ll be worth it when he gets to 200

Adam Wainwright is one of my favorite pitchers ever so it's been really sad to see him have a season like this, though I do hope that win over Baltimore sparks some type of fire in him to get that 200th win. I still think he should've retired with albert and yadi, but getting 200 wins will be sick if he does it.

Greinke needed 118 K's to reach 3K and while that was a stretch to start the year, I decided to make that my 2023 journey because well the team as a whole, while not this bad, wasn't going anywhere so why not maybe see history. Well, the Gman is 1-15, has the lowest run support out of all pitchers, and somehow Wano has more wins than him even though he is the worst in multiple other stats. I was at the Stl v KC game and it was sad seeing Wano get rocked, he didn't deserve that. And Greinke won't reach 3k K's this season, and I highly doubt he comes back next year for what will be the remainder sub 20, depending how many more he gets in 2023. But I did see history though, for the first time ever in MLB a team has won 2 games by walk-off balk in the same season, oh yeah baby KC setting not great, and not bad, but just huh neat records. I also was at Greinkes only win v BAL and go check that statline. Topps Now made a card of it, and it was a sub 2 hour game, the first ever for me, which was neat.

I don't really blame him for coming back. In his last two seasons he was still a solid and reliable pitcher even if he was still past his prime. Particularly in 2021, where he ended up as the ace of the staff again, and even was the starter for the Wild Card game. 2022 wasn't as good but he was still solid. He felt like he still had it, and could give us one more good year for 2023. First innings aside, his performance in the WBC did little to shake that confidence either. He was hardly the reason the Cardinals were as bad as we were this year, and we'd still have finished maybe in 4th place at best.

He just did it lol

I can still see Beltran’s knees buckle……….

As a Cardinals fan this is the most difficult video of yours I’ve watched lol

Here is what you do. You have 40 man rosters now. You wait until you have a 10 run lead. Then you give him the ball in the 7th and you let him get the final nine outs in garbage time. That will credit him as the winning pitcher. 200 wins. Then he retires.

Some people just want to play ball. If baseball is what you know it's going to be hard to do something else. Maybe he's chasing history or maybe he just wanted to play more ball, but once he signs the contract, he's committed to play for the team. And like you said, he had an above average ERA+ just last year, so he had no reason to think was going to happen. As a competitor who's had bad outings before he was probably thinking "Well that was just a bad start; I'm getting old, you gotta expect some of these. I'll have a better one next time." I imagine the doubts were pretty well entrenched a few starts in, but by then the season was well underway and is he really helping the Cardinals by retiring mid-season? Unless they have someone to replace him with, probably not. Also, there's no saying that he's "chasing" 200 wins. An athlete's perception of their career is very different from an outside observer's; there's a good chance he doesn't care at all about some number on his Baseball Reference page, but does care about his teammates, his front office people, his coaches, etc. It's hard to leave your friends behind, and he was an above average pitcher last year, why wouldn't he think he'd be around average this year? Sure it hasn't worked out, but the "oh he's just chasing a meaningless stat" narrative is both unfair and probably untrue.

The way I see it you go until all the gas is out of the tank. I respect the effort and drive. You never know before the year starts if it will be a good one.

Funny you mentioned both Rivera and Hoffman given Rivera was still awesome the last year.

I remember that Wakefield 200th win. He had gone like 8 or 9 starts in a row with either a ND or Loss. It was a struggle watching him trying to get #200.

How could you do my boy rickey henderson dirty like that, bro had an ops+ of 100 from age 37 to 44, an almost full season at a 128 ops+ aged 40 (438 AB, .315/.423/.466), and stole 257 bags (47 per 162 games) at 78.6% success rate, almost .400 obp (including .410 and .423 seasons, 5th and 7th in the NL) led the league in walks and steals aged 39, and had only 2 of the 8 seasons with -war (-0.1 and -0.6), and in the whole span he put up 9.4 war. only him, kenny lofton, and davey jones have careers over 37 with 8+ war, 400 games played, 75 steals, and OPS+ >= 100 edit: also jose bautista had a 102 OPS+ in his last year with positive war (0.4), and jeter only put up 2.1 WAR in 452 games at 37+, including a last season where he had -2.2 wpa (37+ total was -0.9 wpa), and only had 4 rbi in 51 playoff ABs, including 18Ks to 3 BBs and a -7.5 championship wpa (Also he literally got to 3000 hits when he was 37 and then played 350+ more games anyway)

“McQueen is fading”😢

Shoutout to the …Like Clockwork poster! 🤘🤘🤘

The only controversial thing said was the mookie is probably winning an MVP #JusticeForRonald

Awww... At least he'll always have his album and concert.

I am a die hard Pirates fan (I will never give up on them no matter what) I feel so bad for them.

At this point even if he gets to 200 it won't even matter because of how bad this season went. And the fact that he should have retired with Albert and Yadi. Would have been perfect

Big fan of u Jolly Olive 🫒

You should make a video about the opposite “Players who shouldn’t have retired because they were so good” like David Ortiz