An insider’s view of Yadier Molina, Adam Wainwright, and Albert Pujols

Longtime sports photographer Scott Rovak shares a look back at the legendary St. Louis Cardinals players as their final season together comes to an end.

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Come what will this October, St. Louis Cardinals legends Albert Pujols, Yadier Molina, and Adam Wainwright will play their final games together during the coming weeks. For the better part of two decades, this trio of Redbirds has broken baseball records, rewritten franchise history, and entertained millions of fans in St. Louis. Scott Rovak has watched their careers unfold more closely than anyone. The 57-year-old team photographer has been shooting Cards baseball since 1983. To commemorate the end of an era, Rovak shared some of his favorite shots from the careers of Pujols, Molina, and Wainwright.

Before taking the field for Opening Day pregame festivities at Busch Stadium on April 7, Molina, Pujols, and Wainwright sat in the Cardinals dugout and watched as a tribute video highlighted the milestone moments from their respective careers. On an emotional afternoon with 46,256 fans in attendance, Rovak captured the trio soaking up their final Opening Day together. “When I started shooting baseball, I looked up to guys like Tommy Herr, Lonnie Smith, Ozzie Smith, Terry Pendleton, and George Hendrick,” Rovak says. “They were older than me, and I looked up to them as adults and professionals. Years later, I was the same age as the players. Now I’m old enough that they could be my kids. I remember each of their rookie years. The nice thing is that the three of them are all nice guys.”

Long before he became a power-hitting first baseman, Pujols held a different role: power-hitting outfielder. With Mark McGwire, Tino Martinez, and Scott Rolen manning the corners during his first three seasons, Pujols filled a need in left field. Here, Pujols is seen patrolling the outfield at Wrigley Field late in the 2003 season. “It’s fun to remember those kinds of things,” Rovak says.

With this 2009 photo, Rovak supplied photo evidence that Pujols doesn’t just hit baseballs—he smashes them. “I got an email from a physics expert saying that didn’t happen, that it had to be Photoshopped,” Rovak says. “I’m like, ‘Dude! Here’s the raw info from the raw file. I did not touch that photo.’ In 30 years of shooting baseball, that’s the one. It’s a great hitter, with perfect composition, and perfect symmetry. Everything fell into place for that moment.”

Rovak snapped this photo, one of his favorites from Molina’s career, during a serendipitous pregame encounter with the catcher. “I was using a camera that had a built-in pop-up flash,” Rovak says. “I was going to take a picture of him getting ready to take the field, but then he looks over at me. I don’t want to take his picture with him looking at me because it’s going to flash, and you know how it is when someone takes a picture with a flash in your eyes. I know he’s about to go out and catch a 90-mile-per-hour pitch, and Tony La Russa is standing there so I don’t want to take it. [Molina] says, ‘Take it,’ and it becomes a back-and-forth. ‘Take it.’ No. ‘Take it.’ No. ‘Take it.’ Click. It’s now one of my favorite portraits of him.”

A great sports photographer has the ability to anticipate and grab the perfect picture at a pivotal moment. In this case, Rovak used a remote camera to capture the embrace Molina and Wainwright shared after the final out of Game 5 of the 2006 World Series. 

José Martínez (left) had a unique handshake for each of his Cardinal teammates during his four seasons with the club. The 6-foot-6 Martínez liked to razz Molina about his comparatively modest 5-foot-11 frame. “Because José was so tall, Yadi would frequently have to jump up to high-five him,” Rovak says.

Despite having one of the best arms in baseball, Wainwright has never taken himself too seriously. It’s a quality that has endeared him to Cardinals fans and to team photographers alike. Rovak appreciates the rapport he’s built with Wainwright and his teammates over the years. “He knows I’m in the inner circle and a picture like that is not going to be used to show him in a bad light,” Rovak says. “There’s a relationship. Here, I had my camera on my neck. He comes up and makes a strongman face, and I just start firing.”

Although elbow surgery prevented him from pitching during the 2011 season, Wainwright maintained an enthusiastic presence in the Cardinals dugout during the team's run to the World Series. “He was the team’s biggest cheerleader,” Rovak says. “Even though he was injured, he was on the bench and cheering guys on.”