Hearing Adam Wainwright is injured again is tough.
The Cardinal's ace tore his Achilles in a game on Saturday. He’s going to miss the entire season. This is his second time losing a year; in 2011, Wainwright underwent Tommy John surgery and missed the season.
It’s tough to take in because the workhorse is going to need another year in the doctor’s office.
It’s tough to take in because of the nature of the injury. He didn’t crash into a wall or collide with a player. Wainwright was doing one of the most routine actions in a baseball game; he was running out of the batter’s box. He hit a pop-fly that went halfway to first base when his left leg failed to do its job.
It’s tough to take in simply because nobody likes injuries. Cardinals fans and boo-birds alike cringed when they heard the news or saw the replay. Whether the athlete is on your team or is your least-favorite player, you never want the person to get seriously injured.
It’s tough to take in because of how dominant Wainwright has been when healthy.
Over the first half of this decade, Wainwright quietly played extremely well. You’d be hard-pressed to find pitchers who threw better more consistently this decade.
Wainwright has been the third-best pitcher in the past five years, behind just Clayton Kershaw and Felix Hernandez. Justin Verlander is a close fourth.
In Wainwright’s last five seasons with a game pitched, he has finished in the top three of Cy Young voting four times. Twice, he got second place.
The fifth season was 2012, the year immediately following his Tommy John’s surgery.
According to @ESPNStatsInfo, Wainwright has led the majors in shutouts (7) and complete games (13) since 2012. His 55 wins in the span is second-best and his ERA, 2.99, is sixth.
Last year, former Oakland A’s ace Mark Mulder attempted an MLB comeback after a six-year sabbatical. He ruptured his Achilles just before spring training.
Mulder, now an analyst with ESPN, was interviewed by the network after Wainwright’s injury and talked about his own rehab. He said that if Wainwright were to “absolutely just get after it,” recovery would take eight to nine months. At that point, he would be “pretty good,” but not able to sprint or compete.
Wainwright is expected to be out for up to 12 months.
Mulder’s MLB comeback attempt was cut short due to this injury. Ryan Howard tore his in the 2011 playoffs and returned midway through the 2012 season. After being a perennial 30-home run hitter, he hasn’t hit more than 23 since.
There haven’t been many cases of Achilles tears in the MLB. From 2008-11, the only other MLB player who had one was Kevin Frandsen. The effect on Frandsen’s career is unclear; he was not an everyday player before the injury and has transferred around the league since.
Without a plethora of precedence, Wainwright’s return will be a curious case. Will his career suffer as Howard’s did? The Phillies’ slugger was 31 years old. Wainwright is 33.
Will Wainwright go the way of many NBA players, such as Kobe Bryant? The Lakers guard tore his in 2013 and, after a six-game 2014 stint, returned in 2015 to average 22.3 points per game as a 36-year-old.
Wainwright is at the beginning stages; he hasn’t even begun surgery. The tear was confirmed on Monday. However, if Wainwright is unable to regain form, it’ll truly be a shame. The fact that he’s never won a Cy Young is a reflection of the dominant pitching this era, not his personal shortcomings. His performances have helped the Cardinals recover from the loss of Albert Pujols and remain a powerhouse in the MLB.
If Wainwright continues to suffer, the league will too. If he can make a full comeback, there will be a severely underrated force in the league that helps elevate the competition in the MLB.
Reach the reporter at logan.newman@asu.edu or follow @Logan_Newsman on Twitter.
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