Waino eyes second act -- as country singer-songwriter

BALTIMORE -- While in the twilight of an exceptional career, Adam Wainwright isn’t done pitching just yet. Still, he’s already planning his next act -- as a recording artist.

You heard that right. The longtime Cardinals hurler plans to reinvent himself in retirement as a country singer-songwriter, and the St. Louis faithful he’s pitched in front of for decades is going to get a sneak peek of what that looks like.

The Cardinals' weekend-long celebration of Wainwright’s career later this month will feature an on-field concert from Wainwright himself. Wainwright is booked to perform three new original songs after the Cardinals’ game on Sept. 30 against the Reds, and he plans to release a 15-track so-far untitled album sometime early in 2024.

“To be able to play music in front of a crowd is like a dream come true,” Wainwright told MLB.com. “I played one show this offseason where I had like 800 people there, and I felt like I was taking them out for Game 5 of the World Series. The jitters were back. I walked on the stage, and it was like pitching.”

A lifelong country music fan, Wainwright was a longtime amateur guitarist by 2017, when former teammate Matt Holliday began inviting him to his Florida house during Spring Training for jam sessions. Through a mutual friend, he connected with Grammy Award-winning singer, writer and record producer Gary Baker, who encouraged Wainwright to share some of his original work.

Intrigued, Wainwright did. Baker provided feedback. Wainwright tweaked, reimagined and re-recorded. Full songs began to take shape. More opportunities presented themselves, such as collaborations with accomplished songwriter Greg Barnhill.

“I would send them a song about my life, and they would tweak it to make it Nashville-worthy,” Wainwright said. “It’s been fun. They’ve taught me a lot.”

Eventually, Wainwright accumulated enough material for a full debut album. He’s dabbled in live performances, including a well-received rendition of the national anthem on Opening Day 2023. Wainwright also performed last winter at the aforementioned 800-person benefit concert and sang for a crowd on a boat when the Cardinals were in London earlier this summer.

“I don’t get real nervous in baseball, so [performing] kinda puts me outside of my element,” Wainwright said. “When you’re telling your own story, singing your own song and nobody has heard it yet, there is this whole element of ‘I hope they like this. I hope they don’t hate this. I hope they don’t start throwing tomatoes at me.’

“Being a singer on stage, there is not much room to cover it up if you make a mistake,” Wainwright said. “It’s very similar to starting pitching. If you have a bad day playing left field, there are eight other guys in the lineup to drive in the run or whatever. When you’re starting pitching, you can lose a game in five minutes. Being out there on that island is something I kind of love, and so maybe that’s why I like doing this so much.”

Asked for his artistic influences, Wainwright listed some of country music’s biggest stars: Garth Brooks, Luke Bryan, George Strait. He is also friends with Craig Campbell and Cole Swindell, and has made inroads in Nashville through his connections to Baker and Barnhill.

“If people laugh and make fun of me, then I can handle that,” Wainwright said. “I can roll with the punches. I never have minded making a fool out of myself, so we’re gonna see if I do it again.”

For more information or to purchase tickets for Wainwright’s farewell weekend, fans can visit cardinals.com/waino.