2014 Arch Awards: Cardinals’ Adam Wainwright is MVP of St. Louis Sports
Earlier this month, we asked our readers to help us out with our annual Arch Awards and vote for the MVP of St. Louis sports during 2014. We had four nominees: St. Louis Cardinals starting pitcher Adam Wainwright, Blues forward Vladimir Tarasenko, Rams defensive tackle Aaron Donald, and Missouri Tigers defensive end Shane Ray. While all the nominees were exceptionally deserving, our readers ultimately determined that Wainwright has been the Most Valuable Player in St. Louis this year.
The 33-year-old righthander had a career year in 2014, notching a 20-9 record with a 2.38 ERA and 1.031 WHIP over 32 starts. Wainwright achieved career-best numbers in wins, ERA, and WHIP, and shutouts (3), while tying his career high in complete games (5). He made his third All-Star Game, which he started for the National League, and he finished third in Cy Young voting.
More from St. Louis General
- 2017 NBA Draft: Boston Celtics select St. Louis native Jayson Tatum
- Cleveland Browns Select St. Louisan Roderick Johnson in NFL Draft
- St. Louis Area Native Brian Hill Selected by Atlanta Falcons in NFL Draft
- St. Louisan Jehu Chesson Drafted by Kansas City Chiefs
- St. Louis Area Native Adoree’ Jackson Selected by Tennessee Titans in 2017 NFL Draft
Most importantly, Wainwright was the rock of a Cardinals team that was inconsistent offensively due to Yadier Molina‘s extended absence and the struggles of players such as Allen Craig throughout the course of the season. If the Cardinals didn’t have the stabilizing presence of Wainwright every fifth day, they surely wouldn’t have been able to maintain the momentum that allowed them to steal away the NL Central lead from the Milwaukee Brewers at the beginning of September and ultimately reach the NLCS for the fourth straight year.
Congratulations to Adam Wainwright for winning the 2014 St. Louis MVP Arch Award! Stay tuned with the Arch Awards tomorrow, where we’ll award our Community MVP honors. In addition, check out the link below to vote for our Best Team Award, which we’ll announce the winner of on Friday.
Next: What was the Best Team in St. Louis Sports During 2014?