Wainwright 'almost certainly' retiring after '22, but won't commit to plan

There's a very good chance a pair of St. Louis Cardinals icons will walk away together in 2022.

Veteran right-hander Adam Wainwright told the R2C2 Podcast on Saturday that he isn't ready to announce his retirement just yet, but he acknowledged that there's a very good chance 2022 will be his last hurrah on the mound.

"It's been a good run," the 40-year-old said. "I would be willing to say that it's almost certainly my last year, but I'm not gonna go write that in stone."

Wainwright added: "I don't like 100% committing either way, right. ... Two of my favorite athletes of all time, Michael Jordan and Brett Favre, they each retired like 17 times apiece. And I just, I want to retire one time and be done, and know that I'm done when I walk off the field.

He continued: "I have such a love for the game, and such a love for my family, and such a respect for both sides, that I wanna know that I know that I know before I make a decision."

Wainwright continued defying age in 2021 when he turned in one of the best individual seasons of his career. He posted a 3.05 ERA and 1.06 WHIP with 174 strikeouts and a league-leading three complete games across 32 starts, helping the Redbirds to a surprising wild-card berth. Wainwright also made his 16th career playoff start in the NL wild-card game.

If next season is indeed the end, he'll be embarking on a joint farewell tour with his longtime catcher, Yadier Molina, who announced this past summer that 2022 will be his final season. The duo is virtually joined at the hip, having worked together in St. Louis since Wainwright debuted as a reliever in 2005.

While family life is the main reason he's considering retirement, Wainwright still has some milestones he wants to shoot for before leaving baseball. In addition to reaching the 200-win mark (he needs 16), the hurler is hoping to set a very special record with Molina. The duo is 20 starts shy of breaking Mickey Lolich and Bill Freehan's record for the most starts as a battery in baseball history.

"That's a really cool thing," Wainwright said of the record. "I mean, to say you had the most in the history of baseball in any capacity is a really big and cool statement. I think that's pretty neat."