An American legend with Kwang-Hyun Kim and Seung-Hwan Oh, at the age of 41, was selected as the 1st WBC U.S. starter
- allforyouclick
- 0
- on Mar 08, 2023
The World Baseball Classic (WBC) defending champion, the United States스포츠토토, has entrusted the heavy responsibility of starting pitcher for the first game of the 2023 tournament to veteran Adam Wainwright (41).
The US’Fox Sports’ reported on the 8th (Korean time) that Wainwright will start the 2023 WBC final round 1 group C match against England at Chase Field in Phoenix, Arizona on the 12th.
Wainwright, born in 1981, is a legend who made his big league debut in 2005 in St. Louis and recorded a career record of 457 games, 195 wins, 117 losses, 3 saves and 17 holds, with an ERA of 3.38 until last year.
He led St. Louis to the top of the World Series in 2006, and accumulated brilliant achievements such as being selected as an All-Star three times and winning the National League championship twice. In 2020, he was even recognized for his exemplary and upright career by winning the Roberto Clemente Award.
His skill still hasn’t rusted. Last year, he was also a part of the St. Louis starting lineup with an average ERA of 3.71 and 11 wins and 12 losses in 32 games.
However, this year will be the last time we will see Wainwright on the mound. With his retirement scheduled at the end of this season, he will represent his country by participating in the 2023 WBC before the opening of the regular season.
Wainwright also has a deep relationship with Korean players. He ate together with Kim Gwang-hyeon (35, SSG Landers) and Oh Seung-hwan (41, Samsung Lions). Kim Gwang-hyun has expressed his gratitude several times, saying that he received various help from Wainwright in the 2020 and 2021 seasons, who were in St. Louis.
In this WBC, if Korea and the United States both achieve a semifinal or higher record, there is a possibility that Kim Kwang-hyun and Wainwright face each other in Miami, USA.