Let’s start off by saying: I think Adam Wainwright is kidding here? But I can’t completely tell.
The longtime St. Louis Cardinals pitcher was on the mic for FOX Sports during the NLDS matchup between the Atlanta Braves and Miami Marlins, and in the middle of Thursday’s Game 3, he informed viewers that he “had to battle half my team thinking the Earth is flat this year, and they think we’ve never been to the moon and all kinds of crazy stuff. I’ve got a bunch of Flat Earthers.” He added that Paul DeJong, “smartest guy on the team,” is a Flat Earther.
#Cardinals Adam Wainwright just outed his teammates as being flat earth truthers!
😂😂😂 pic.twitter.com/r31SiiRy4A
— Steve Frederick (@_SteveFrederick) October 8, 2020
That’s where I think the joking comes in. Per an MLB.com story from 2018:
A new Topps Futures Star card released last week describes DeJong as “a lifelong science ‘nut,’ who “spent the offseason applying his avocation to his profession.” The blurb cites DeJong’s offseason work with Dr. Lawrence Rocks, a renowned chemist who is also the father of his agent, Burton Rocks. By making DeJong’s passion public, they hope the card will encourage young baseball fans to pursue science as an off-the-field interest as well.
Also, the aforementioned Burton Rocks denied what Wainwright said was true:
Wainwright was funny on TV. This story was a joke, we think. Paul DeJong’s agent Burton Rocks said, “Its a joke. Paul DeJong has a degree in biochemistry. His grandmother Sharon Whipple was a scientist.” OK, funny stuff. https://t.co/CTv5H9L1YL
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) October 8, 2020
We’ve been over this — maybe let’s not even joke about this right now.
