BALTIMORE (AP) — Cardinals pitcher Adam Wainwright will perform on an entirely different stage before bidding farewell to St. Louis fans and life on the baseball diamond.
Wainwright will give a postgame concert during his final weekend playing at Busch Stadium. The 42-year-old will retire from baseball after this season, but not before treating fans to three original songs from his upcoming country album.
His performance is slated for Sept. 30, the second-to-last day of the season.
“I’m excited about sharing some music with everybody, and hopefully they’ll like it,” Wainwright said Wednesday before the Cardinals faced the Baltimore Orioles. “It’s a fun opportunity for me.”
Wainwright won his 199th career game on Tuesday night. The right-hander also was part of a World Series championship team. He's a three-time All Star and has garnered two Gold Gloves.
This won't be his first musical stint at the Cardinals' home stadium. He performed the national anthem prior to the team's home opener this year.
To Wainwright, that was the musical equivalent of facing a slugger with the bases loaded.
“The anthem was a lot of pressure,” he said. “If I mess my own song up, I can get by and no one will even know it because I haven’t put the album out yet.”
Manager Oliver Marmol said, “I think he’s more confident on the mound. Once he gets going, he’s good. But he’s done the pitching thing a little longer.”
Marmol said Wainwright has provided him samples of his music, sometimes when the manager is least expecting it.
“Whenever he comes out with a new song he usually sends it to me, and it’s usually around midnight,” Marmol said. “I’ve actually gone to see him play. I enjoyed it. It will be fun.”
Wainwright's teammates can't wait.
“He’s a really good guitar player,” reliever Matthew Liberatore said. “It’s mostly country, and that’s what I like. So I’m looking forward to hearing it.”
The concert will enable fans to hear part of Wainwright's upcoming album, which will contain 15 songs.
“I’ll be putting some teasers out on social media until the album drops,” he said. “This is more of an in-depth look at what we’re all about. It’s all songs about me and my upbringing.”
After he's done with baseball, playing music will occupy much of Wainwright's time. But that's only part of his plan to keep busy.
“It’s going to be one of the chapters,” he said. “I’ve got a lot of chapters in the book — five kids and a wife. I’m going to do some broadcasting, too, but this will part of it for sure.”
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