Why Adam Wainwright says he'll return to Springfield after his final pitching appearance

In search of his favorite brisket in the Queen City, Adam Wainwright stopped by City Butcher on Tuesday night ahead of what could be his final rehab appearance at Hammons Field.

Like so many have experienced when visiting one of Springfield's top barbeque restaurants, Wainwright arrived and they were sold out of meat.

"Apparently, people were going there wondering where I was," Wainwright said with a laugh. "I love that place."

In his final season on the mound, Wainwright made his first rehab start on Wednesday afternoon at Hammons Field. It could be the last time the three-time all-star competes in Springfield's downtown diamond.

Despite the afternoon game in the middle of the week, fans still flocked to the stadium. Hundreds of kids from local schools were already scheduled to be at the stadium for education day although most went crazier for Louie, the Cardinals' mascot, and for the SpongeBob SquarePants theme song.

"Those kids don't know who I am," the 41-year-old said. "They don't care about me. I think they were just glad to be out of school."

Most in the crowd knew exactly who Wainwright was as the 2006 World Series champion took the mound for three innings of work. Fans packed the concourse an hour before the first pitch while most crowded the right-field bullpen to watch him warm up holding out hope for an autograph. Wainwright tossed a few balls up to younger fans who stood and grinned from ear-to-ear having caught a ball from someone who they'd watched on TV.

On the mound, Wainwright struck out three, allowed four hits and allowed two off a home run in the second. He got more comfortable as the game when on in his first innings of action in front of a crowd this year as he fights back from a groin injury.

Afterward, Wainwright said his body and arm were feeling good. The plan is for Wainwright to travel back to St. Louis before hopping on a plane to Wichita, Kansas, to play with the Springfield Cardinals on Tuesday. He will then hopefully rejoin a big league team that has had some pitching struggles early in the year but Wainwright is confident the Cardinals will turn it around.

"We have tons of talent," Wainwright said. "We just haven't played like a team yet and haven't played like we can to our capabilities but we will. We will. There's nobody in that clubhouse who has given up hope so we're going to be fine."

In what he hopes will be the final rehab stint of his baseball career, Wainwright took in the local baseball atmosphere that only the minor league can provide. He signed autographs after throwing 59 pitches and also spent time talking to the younger pitchers on the team and giving them advice. No, the Springfield Cardinals didn't ask him to sing the national anthem but he was complimentary of the person who did sing it.

While taking it in, Wainwright also spoke about how he didn't want to waste much more time and get back to the big leagues for his last ride.

"I only have 25 or 26 more starts when I get back in and I need to make the most of them," Wainwright said. "I don't want to waste any more time."

Steak and lobster were waiting in the clubhouse once the game concluded, courtesy of Wainwright, while the well-documented barbeque consumer dreamt about City Butcher's brisket and ribs. He said he'll do the pulled pork sometimes but Wainwright couldn't stop talking about the brisket with the sauce on the side.

Even though his pitching career is coming to an end, Wainwright promised he'd find excuses to make it back through Springfield to eat one of his favorite meals.

He drops his kids off at Camp Kanakuk every year and he'll use it as his reason to make it back into town.

"It's been a treat to be here unless the wind is blowing out," Wainwright said. "I love being here in Springfield, it's a wonderful place. I stayed in an incredible hotel, City Butcher's one of my favorites and the crowd has always treated us like royalty here and it makes us feel very loved. I love being here."

Wyatt D. Wheeler is a reporter and columnist with the Springfield News-Leader. You can contact him at 417-371-6987, by email at wwheeler@news-leader.com or Twitter at @WyattWheeler_NL.

This article originally appeared on Springfield News-Leader: Cardinal pitcher Adam Wainwright makes final appearance in Springfield