Adam Wainwright won't just be the last 200-win pitcher for a while, he might be the last 200-win non-Hall of Famer for much longer.
The great Roger Angell once wrote that ballplayers are like actors or politicians — it's difficult to spot greatness early in their careers. But it's tough to envision any active hurlers reaching 200 wins.. Increases in fastball velocity have led to increases in pitcher injuries — it's hard to rack up wins on the injured list. What's more, managers don't care about wins. In the old days, skippers would leave their hurlers on the hill to endure just to get them the decision.
The bigger picture has changed, and with it, so should our understanding of greatness. Wainwright won't just be the last 200-win pitcher for a while, he might be the last 200-win non-Hall of Famer for much longer. That's not to say Waino didn't have a peak. He finished second in Cy Young voting twice and third twice. He was a three-time All-Star and World Series champion who concludes his career with a 3.53 lifetime ERA. But dominant? One of the GOATs of a generation? Not to knock a man while he's up, but Wainwright sits a tier below the HOF locks like Scherzer, Verlander, Kershaw & Co.
Barring significant rule changes or an unforeseen sweep back to 1955, the eternal Georgian, a dude drafted in the year 2000 in the same round as Twins skipper Rocco Baldelli, looks to be one of the last true Hall of Very Good workhorse. That’s a remarkable accomplishment in its own right, a career to remember and celebrate, because we won’t see many like it again.
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