Adam Wainwright kicks off farewell tour with awesome gesture for opposing player

Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Erik Swanson idolized St. Louis Cardinals ace Adam Wainwright, and he received an amazing gift ahead of Sunday’s game.

Last year, the St. Louis Cardinals celebrated the careers of slugger Albert Pujols and catcher Yadier Molina, who announced that the 2022 season would be their last. This offseason, starting pitcher Adam Wainwright announced that he would be returning for 2023, but it would be his final campaign with the Cardinals.

Wainwright hasn’t pitched yet in the 2023 season due to a groin strain that put him on the 15-day injured list. But, he has been around with the team, even singing the national anthem on Opening Day at Busch Stadium. But on Sunday, Wainwright had a cool moment involving Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Erik Swanson.

The Cardinals’ official Twitter account noted that Swanson grew up idolizing Wainwright, which is why he chose to wear the No. 50. Wainwright gifted Swanson with an autographed jersey before Sunday’s game.

Adam Wainwright gifts Erik Swanson with autographed jersey

It’s cool to meet your heroes, as evidenced by the moment captured by the Cardinals’ social media team.

Swanson pitched in the first two games of the St. Louis-Toronto series. On Opening Day, Swanson struck out two-of-three batters faced on 17 pitches in one inning. But on Saturday, Swanson surrendered one earned run on two hits, struck out one batter, and issued one walk in one inning in Toronto’s 4-1 loss.

As for the series-finale, the Cardinals picked up the 9-4 win to improve their record to 2-1 on the season.

Wainwright is coming off of a 2022 season where he recorded a 3.71 ERA, a 1.283 WHIP, a 143 strikeouts and 54 walks in 191.2 innings (32 starts).

Before the final game of the series, Wainwright met with Swanson and gave him a memory he will never forget.