Adam Wainwright Adorably Cited His New Puppy As the Reason for His Retirement

Former Cardinals pitcher Adam Wainwright knows a thing or two about the dog days of summer—this is a man, after all, who went 30-13 with a 2.89 ERA in July during his storied career.

However, Wainwright's retirement has given whole new meaning to the term for the 200-game winner.

At his retirement ceremony before St. Louis's 4-3 victory over the Reds in its season finale Oct. 1, the Cardinals presented Wainwright and his family with a Lagotto Romagnolo puppy. On Monday morning, Wainwright tweeted out his official retirement paperwork—which cited the puppy as his reason for walking away from the game.

"People keep asking me if I’m officially retired. Well, here is my official retirement paperwork that we turned in to the [Cardinals] and [MLBPA]," Wainwright said. "Retired? Absolutely, for all the best reasons. Will send more later. Love y’all."

Wainwright had previously told his children he would get a puppy when he retired. The three-time All-Star announced that 2023 would be his last season in Oct. 2022.