Notes: Wainwright's trivia night; Liberatore
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DENVER -- If you have taken part in online trivia, you may be ready for what’s to come. If you root for the Cardinals and have wanted to brush shoulders with some big league Redbirds, you may be ecstatic for what’s to come. And if you enjoy to give back, you may be fulfilled by what’s to come.
Get ready for what it might feel like to hit big on a true Daily Double.
• Cardinals Injuries and Roster Moves
On July 9, Adam Wainwright’s Big League Impact charity will be hosting a a virtual trivia night in partnership with Bally Sports Midwest. Teams of 10 -- with virtual “tables” reserved via donations to Big League Impact -- will compete through five rounds of Zoom trivia, with prizes available for winners.
The night’s festivities will include current players Paul Goldschmidt, Tommy Edman and Austin Dean, and Cardinals play-by-play voice Dan McLaughlin
Big League Impact was founded by Wainwright in 2013 and has helped communities lacking basic resources around the world ever since. Often, Wainwright has paid visits to the communities his charity assists, but the COVID-19 pandemic has pushed this fundraiser virtual.
Wainwright received the 2020 Roberto Clemente Award for his efforts with Big League Impact.
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Proceeds from the trivia night will benefit Big League Impact to “help support the mission of helping people meet basic human needs like food, clean water, medical care, shelter and education in an effort to save lives, restore dignity and instill hope.”
Wainwright, who said he has spent decades watching “Jeopardy!,” knows he can hold his own in the sports, and especially baseball, categories. But who’s the team’s five-tool “Jeopardy!” player?
“Definitely Tommy Edman,” Wainwright said. “Stanford grad -- super, super, super smart.”
Team USA readies without Liberatore
Despite helping USA Baseball qualify for the Olympics, set to take place this summer, pitcher Matthew Liberatore was not included among the roster heading to Tokyo. The Cardinals had been wary of how much they could expend Liberatore, given their dearth of pitching depth in top levels of the organization. He instead will remain with Triple-A Memphis for the foreseeable future.
“With all candor, I've got to always side with the Major League organization,” president of baseball operations John Mozeliak said on June 3. “That's my first responsibility, so based on how we're trending, it would seem like it'd be a really difficult decision for us. … We're going to have to discuss and decide what's best for him for us, and what that aggregate looks like, and then make that decision.”
Liberatore, already tabbed for the 2021 SiriusXM All-Star Futures Game on July 11 in Denver, allowed two runs across as many starts for Team USA in qualifying, including 4 2/3 frames of one-run ball in the qualifying clincher against Venezuela. He has pitched to a 4.40 ERA in eight starts for Triple-A Memphis, with 43 strikeouts against 12 walks.