JUPITER, Fla. — With the clock ticking, Cardinals veteran Adam Wainwright engaged the pitching rubber with his cleat and prepared Saturday to throw the first pitch of his 500-start professional career that had a timer on it.
All he needed was catcher Willson Contreras to punch in the pitch call with the wireless tech used to relay signs now, and their Grapefruit League opener, the first game for the Cardinals under a slate of new Major League Baseball, would begin.
The speaker tucked into Wainwright’s hatband whispered an automated voice.
“Fastball,” it began. “Do---”
It went dead.