Former St. Louis Cardinals starting pitcher Adam Wainwright (50) explains his struggles during late season. Jonathan Hui-USA TODAY Sports

Adam Wainwright uses Twitter thread to explain late-season struggles

By Chelena Goldman | Last updated Oct 12, 2022 1:50 PM ET

Suffice to say, Adam Wainwright was not pitching like his usual self at the end of the 2022 regular season.

But instead of waiting for an interview opportunity to explain his struggles or simply giving everyone the silent treatment, the St. Louis Cardinals pitcher took to Twitter on Wednesday to "clear a few things up" and shared a lengthy thread explaining what was really going on.

"On Aug 28th I was hit in the knee by a comebacker against Atlanta," Wainwright wrote in the first of five tweets. "Without knowing it, after that game my stride length got shorter by almost a foot. Timing was thrown."

Want to clear a few things up as I didn't pitch like I wanted to down the stretch and feel the need to explain. On Aug 28th I was hit in the knee by a comebacker against Atlanta. Without knowing it, after that game my stride length got shorter by almost a foot. Timing was thrown
— Adam Wainwright (@UncleCharlie50) October 12, 2022

The veteran right-hander went on to explain how the one incident set him up for bad habits for the remaining month of the season. He also took responsibility for not keeping up on game film and catching the problem sooner.

I didn't stay diligent enough with my film work to catch it immediately. It wasn't something I had struggled with before. The zip and crispness to my stuff returned as soon as we locked in on the problem. What I was attributing to dead arm was an awful delivery.
— Adam Wainwright (@UncleCharlie50) October 12, 2022

The end of the season should have been way different for me, and who knows what happens if I'm sharp down the stretch. I feel terrible about it. Y'all deserved better. My team deserved better. I owed an explanation... so there you go. Go @Cardinals
— Adam Wainwright (@UncleCharlie50) October 12, 2022

For starters, it is incredibly refreshing to get such an in-depth and candid explanation from a seasoned vet who wasn't required to give anyone an explanation about his performance. But his thread also, as CBS Sports pointed out, gives fans a good inside look at baseball mechanics -- and how easily they can get tweaked.

The Cardinals were eliminated from the MLB postseason by the Philadelphia Phillies.

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