The St. Louis Cardinals put together a classy moment for three franchise icons Sunday in what was the final regular season game at Busch Stadium for at least two of them.
Albert Pujols and Yadier Molina have both announced their plans to retire at the end of the 2022 season, and both Cardinals icons were in the lineup for Sunday’s home finale against Pittsburgh. Veteran Adam Wainwright was pitching, and while he has not announced his plans for 2023, he certainly fits with Molina and Pujols in the category of Cardinal legends.
Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol was well aware of the significance of the occasion, and when he went to remove Wainwright from the game after 4.2 innings, he pulled Pujols and Molina, too. The move allowed the three to exit the game together to a standing ovation.
https://twitter.com/MLB/status/1576669164110053376
Wainwright labored in what turned out to be a 7-5 loss, but Pujols did hit his 702nd career home run earlier in the game.
Wainwright and Molina in particular are tied at the hip, having played the most games together as batterymates in MLB history. Pujols left the Cardinals for a decade, but has fit back in for the 2022 season seamlessly and has staged numerous memorable moments.
The Cardinals have already sealed up the NL Central, so the three have some playoff games ahead of them. This was the last time they’ll play together in the regular season in front of their home fans, though, so the occasion was an emotional one.
