Wednesday night at Busch Stadium, St. Louis Cardinals stalwarts Adam Wainwright and Yadier Molina made a rather remarkable bit of history versus the Milwaukee Brewers (GameTracker). The duo started their 325th game as a battery, setting a new Major League Baseball record. The two have been teammates since Wainwright was first called up to the big leagues in 2005. Molina debuted in 2004.
"It's been a good run," Wainwright told the Associated Press last week. "(Molina is) an incredible teammate, friend, and partner in crime. We've been together for a long time. So, you know, we got to finish strong."
The pair received a standing ovation on their way in from the bullpen, as captured here by MLB.com's John Denton:
With the start against the Brewers, Wainwright and Molina broke the record held by longtime Tigers teammates Mickey Lolich and Bill Freehan. Here are the most common pitcher-catcher starting batteries in history:
Adam Wainwright to Yadier Molina
Cardinals
2007-22
325
Mickey Lolich to Bill Freehan
Tigers
1963-75
324
Warren Spahn to Del Crandall
Braves
1949-63
316
Red Faber to Ray Schalk
White Sox
1914-26
306
Don Drysdale to John Roseboro
Dodgers
1957-67
283
Red Ruffing to Bill Dickey
Yankees
1930-46
282
Steve Rogers to Gary Carter
Expos
1975-84
270
Bob Lemon to Jim Hegan
Cleveland
1946-57
264
Early Winn to Jim Hegan
Cleveland
1949-57
250
Tom Glavine to Javier Lopez
Braves
1994-2002
248
Molina has been behind the plate for 325 of Wainwright's 387 career starts, a staggering 84 percent. For comparison, no catcher has caught more than 30 percent of Clayton Kershaw's career starts, or 26 percent of Justin Verlander's career starts.
Wainwright entered Wednesday with a 10-9 record and a 3.33 ERA in 28 starts and 173 innings. His resurgence the last three seasons has been nothing short of incredible. Molina has hit .222 with four home runs in 67 games around injuries this year.
The 40-year-old Molina has announced this will be his final season. Wainwright, 41, has not yet committed to any plans beyond 2022. Fellow Cardinals legend Albert Pujols, who is chasing 700 career home runs, has also said he will retire after the season.
The Cardinals entered Wednesday's series finale with the second-place Brewers with a 83-59 record and a seven-game lead in the NL Central.
