My Rick Ankiel Article
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by Rawbeezeitz
When Rick Ankiel first came to The Show, he was one of my favorite non-Red Sox players. He was a pitcher who could hit. My brother bought a few dozen of his rookie cards for cheap on eBay with the intention of selling them when Ankiel became an All-Star calibre player. I bought one off of my brother for a few bucks, hoping the investment would pay off.
Ankiel was USA Today’s High School Player of the Year in 1997, going 11-1 with a 0.47 ERA and 162 strikeouts in 74 innings. He soared through the Cardinals’ minor league system, bursting into early stardom in 2000. He went 11-7 his rookie season, with a 3.50 ERA. He also hit .250 and knocked out 2 homeruns. He finished 2 nd in Rookie of the Year voting behind Rafael Furcal.
Then he fell apart. In Game 1 of the 2000 NLDS against the Braves, Ankiel melted down in front of the nation. After working out of jams in the first and second innings, he lost all control in the third. He walked four batters that inning, and threw five wild pitches. St. Louis went on to win the game, and the series.
In the NLCS against the Mets, Ankiel’s control problems continued. In Game 2, he was hooked in the 1 st inning, five of his 20 pitches getting past the catcher. In Game 5 he made a relief appearance, walking two of the four men he faced, and throwing two more wild pitches. He went 4 innings in the 2000 playoffs, walking 11, and throwing nine wild pitches.
2001 started the same way 2000 ended, with balls sailing to the backstop. People started comparing Ankiel to “Wild Thing” Vaughn from Major League. And when people start comparing you to a character from Major League, you know things are going poorly (just ask Wily Mo Pena, a.k.a. Pedro Cerrano).
Ankiel was demoted to AAA. He only pitched 4.1 innings there, with 17 walks, and 12 wild pitches. His control problems were almost humorously bad. What was worse was that nobody could figure out why. His mechanics hadn’t changed, he just couldn’t throw strikes anymore.
Ankiel was demoted to the Rookie League, where he seemed to find his control again, and also spent time as a DH, slugging .638. He had Tommy John surgery in 2003.
He came back to St. Louis in 2004 as a reliever and seemed in control, although not extremely effective. In 2005, he suddenly announced that he would convert to outfielder full-time.
After leading the Pacific Coast League in homeruns this year, he was called up by St. Louis. With the Cards up 2-0 last night, Ankiel hit a 3 run shot in the 7 th to help seal the victory. It was his only hit of the night, but it nearly brought Tony LaRussa to tears.
I think this story is great. Ankiel’s case was so strange. Many players get to the majors and fail right away, few excel then suddenly crumble. Many players crumble, and many players make endless comeback attempts, few succeed, and even fewer find something else that they’re good at and find some way to get back to The Show. I liked Rick Ankiel when he first came up, because he was an all around athlete, and a well-rounded ballplayer. I’m really glad he’s stuck with it and found a way to remain a ballplayer. I don’t think he will do all that much in the Majors as an outfielder. I see him as a AAAA (not a typo) player, going back and forth when needed. He might want to consider a season in Japan. Whatever he does, you gotta give him credit for stick-to-itiveness.
