Wainwright Summons Vintage Form to Claim 200th Win

The FanGraphs Newsletter, September 19, 2023 [READ IN BROWSER]( September 19, 2023 Adam Wainwright rose to the occasion. Summoning vintage form to pitch like the staff stalwart he’s been for the better part of the past two decades instead of the palooka he’s been for most of this season, the 42-year-old righty tossed seven shutout innings against the NL Central-leading Brewers at Busch Stadium. Thanks to a solo homer by catcher Willson Contreras and two more scoreless innings from his bullpen, Wainwright collected the 200th win of his career, and provided some long-awaited cheer and relief for the Cardinals and their fans in an otherwise dismal season. Given the evolution of pitcher workloads, 200-win pitchers are in short supply, though many of us have been spoiled by recent decades. Dan Szymborski was kind enough to tally the annual number of active 200-win pitchers [just as he did for 2,000-hit batters]( in Monday’s [Freddie Freeman]( piece: From 1942–74, no more than four active pitchers had 200 wins at any time, but in 1978 alone, the year this scribe first started following baseball, four players surpassed the mark, running the active total to 10; four of them, and three others nearing the mark, would go on to surpass 300 wins for their careers, [distorting Hall of Fame elections]( for decades. In 2007, the total [spiked to a record 12]( but currently only four other active pitchers besides Wainwright have 200 wins under their belts, namely Justin Verlander (255), Zack Greinke (224), Max Scherzer (214), and Clayton Kershaw (209). [For One Night, Wainwright Summons Vintage Form to Claim 200th Win, by Jay Jaffe]( [Can Cristian Mena and Nick Nastrini Miss Bats in the Big Leagues?]( Two White Sox pitching prospects sit near the top of the minor league swinging strikes leaderboard, but what will it take for that to translate to the highest level? | by Tess Taruskin [What Makes Freddie Freeman Special, in One At-Bat]( Facing arguably the toughest left-handed pitcher in baseball, Freeman shows off the skills that make him one of baseball's best. | by Kyle Kishimoto [J.P. France Embraces His Inner Underdog]( A 28-year-old rookie with an atypical skill set is thriving in the Astros starting rotation. | by David Laurila [Could Josh Hader Have Become a Starter?]( In an alternate world, could Hader have been a dominant two-pitch starter in the Spencer Strider mold? The tale of the tape suggests it's entirely possible. | by Ben Clemens [AJ Smith-Shawver and the Dead Zone Slider]( The Braves recalled their top prospect last week only to unceremoniously demote him without any game action a few days later. What gives? | by Alex Eisert [More Like Team Un-Tropy, Right?]( In the name of efficiency, tiebreaker games and the potential for end-of-season scheduling chaos is gone, but that still leaves a whole lot of Wild Card scenarios to break down. | by Jay Jaffe 🎧 [Effectively Wild Episode 2061: Preseason Team Goals, Revisited]( [DOWNLOAD THE FANGRAPHS APP]( [FanGraphs & Effectively Wild Merch Is Now Available at BreakingT!]( [ORDER HERE]( [Jeff Passan's 2023 MLB season awards, with a twist]( by Jeff Passan, ESPN ($) [The Padres’ disastrous season reveals shaky foundation and ‘institutional failure’]( by Ken Rosenthal and Dennis Lin, The Athletic ($) [10 big offseason additions who have been crucial for contenders]( by Thomas Harrigan, MLB [Chaim Bloom: The Bloom, the Bad and the Ugly]( by Andrew Abramo, Pitcher List [@fangraphs]( [FanGraphs]( [FanGraphs]( [RSS]( [FORWARD]( [SUBSCRIBE]( Copyright © 2023 FanGraphs Inc, All rights reserved. You are receiving this email because you subscribed to the FanGraphs Newsletter. Our mailing address is: FanGraphs Inc 1200 N Hartford St. Apt 312Arlington, Va 22201 [Add us to your address book]( Want to change how you receive these emails? You can [update your preferences]( or [unsubscribe from this list](