Rick Ankiel and a Fun Little 'What If?'
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I keep having this thought.
In my imagination, the St. Louis Cardinals have overtaken the Milwaukee Brewers and Chicago Cubs to win the NL Central. They are in the playoffs, but it doesn't matter in what round or who against.
St. Louis gets immersed in a long extra-inning game, you know, the kind where pitchers come into the game as pinch hitters.
As the game stretches into the early morning hours, Tony La Russa is forced to look down his bench. Now that the bullpen has been exhausted, he wonders who might be available to pitch.
He locks eyes with Ankiel. Forget an experimental knuckle ball, this guy used to be a pitching phenom. Ankiel has secretly been waiting for this moment for years. He's found a niche as an outfielder, but Ankiel is a competitive man, and his present successes are brought into context by the painful memories of the past.
"I'll do it, Coach," he says, nodding.
In my dream scenario, Ankiel regains his old form, pitching a flawless inning or two for the victory. St. Louis then retrains Ankiel as a pitcher, and the 28-year-old goes on to become the first heavy-hitting, everyday-playing pitcher in a long, long time.
Rick Ankiel as the next Babe Ruth? It's doubtful, but it's certainly fun to imagine.
This article is also posted at All on the Field sports blog.
