Matt Adams signs one day contract to retire as a Cardinal

Former Cardinals first baseman Matt Adam loves St. Louis so much he and his wife have made it their home. Wednesday night he went one step further– he signed a one-day contract so he could retire as a Cardinal. Surrounded by his family he participated in a pre-game ceremony.

He threw out a first pitch, caught by catcher Pedro Pages. Page was so excited to be catching him that he pulled out a baseball and asked him for his autograph. The two posed for a photo afterwards, shown right.

“I’m not leaving baseball,” Adams said in a statement. “I’m excited to seek out opportunities in coaching where I can continue to contribute to the sport I love.”

Adams seemed really happy as he greeted everyone and posed for pictures. He smiled just for our readers in the photo, shown left.

“No matter where baseball took me over the years and no matter where it takes me in the future, St. Louis is my home,” he also said in the statement.

The current players were all watching and they all gave him hugs and pats on the back. “Big City”” as he is called, is now a Cardinal for life and we’ll probably be seeing more of him at Busch in the future.

His former teammate, Adam Wainwright posted this on Twitter: “Congrats on a great career @BigCityForReal !! You were a great player and teammate and I am most blessed to call you a friend! Good luck in whatever comes next!”
(Photo credits: Mike Rains, Sherry Opich)