3 best moments of Adam Wainwright's St. Louis Cardinals career

Who would have thought the most crucial piece in the 2003 deal that sent J.D. Drew from the St. Louis Cardinals to the Atlanta Braves was a 22-year-old pitcher from Georgia? That youngster would become one of the most essential players in the organization's history.

Adam Wainwright has three more starts to try and get his 200th career victory before he retires. It took several attempts to get victory 199. He gets an opportunity for his 200th win tonight as the Cardinals take on the Milwaukee Brewers in St. Louis. Wainwright and the Cardinal fan base have high hopes Uncle Charlie can get his 200th win and sit back and enjoy the final games of his career.

Wainwright is 199-128 for his career with an ERA of 3.54. He has 28 complete games, 11 shutouts, 2,661.1 innings pitched, and 2,199 strikeouts. He's been a finalist for the NL Cy Young Award in five seasons. He's won the NL Gold Glove for a pitcher on two occasions. He won the Silver Slugger in 2017. He was the MVP of the 2006 World Series.

He has influenced young players in the Cardinals system for several years. Wainwright's legacy and work ethic will continue once he retires from baseball. Without a doubt, his legacy will last decades.

There have been many memorable moments for Wainwright. Let's discuss three of the best.

Best Adam Wainwright moments: 3. Performance in 2006 NLCS and WS

With Jason Isringhausen suffering an injured hip, the Cardinals desperately needed someone to step up and close out games. By the end of the World Series, Wainwright would gain legendary status in Cardinals lore as the relatively unknown pitcher stepped up and shut down two impressive opponents in the Mets and Tigers.

Wainwright pitched in three games each of the NLDS against the Padres, the NLCS against the Mets, and the World Series against the Tigers. He earned four saves during the fantastic stretch. Waino had 15 strikeouts as the baseball world quickly learned about his knee-buckling 12-6 curveball. See how Carlos Beltran fared against Wainwright's pitch.

It was a fantastic way to introduce yourself to the baseball world. Wainwright would be a Cardinals Hall of Famer for the 2006 postseason alone. But his career with the Cardinals only grew from then.