Rick Ankiel

Rick Ankiel (born July 19, 1979, in Fort Pierce, Florida) is a baseball player, currently an outfielder in the St. Louis Cardinals's farm system. He formerly pitched in the major leagues for the Cardinals until control problems forced the team to send him to the minor leagues.

Early career

Ankiel was named the High School Player of the Year by USA Today in 1997. He signed with the Cardinals straight out of high school, given a $2.5 million signing bonus, the fifth highest ever given to an amateur player. In 1999, he was named the Minor League Player of the Year by both USA Today and Baseball America. Some scouts considered him to be one of the best left-handed pitching prospects ever.

Ankiel pitched his first full season in 2000 at the age of 20, in which he posted an 11-7 record and 3.50 ERA in 30 games started for St. Louis. The most impressive of Ankiel's stats showed his dominance over hitters - he struck out batters at a rate of 9.98 strikeouts-per-nine-innings (second in the National League only to Randy Johnson), and allowed only 7.05 hits-per-nine-innings (second only to Chan Ho Park).

Ankiel threw a fastball in the 93-94 MPH range, and also possessed a heavy sinker with great movement, as well as his main strikeout pitch, a devastating 12-to-6 curveball which some have called the best they've ever seen.

Downfall

The Cardinals won the National League Central Division championship in 2000. Injuries to other pitchers left Ankiel and the late Darryl Kile as the only fully healthy starters left on the Cardinal roster. Wanting to maximize their appearances, and due to the fact that Ankiel, only 20 years old and without much major league experience, needed four days of rest between starts, manager Tony La Russa chose Ankiel to start Game 1 of the National League Division Series against the Atlanta Braves, against Braves pitcher Greg Maddux. Also wanting to shield Ankiel from the inevitable pressures of such a role, La Russa had Kile answer questions to the media as if he were starting Game 1, and it was only afterwards that he informed media members of Ankiel's starting status.

The Cardinals jumped to a lead early in Game 1, scoring six runs in bottom of the first. Ankiel had walked two batters in the top of the first, as well as allowed a single, but escaped unscathed. He also allowed a double in the second inning, after striking out the leadoff batter, but ended the inning with a double play. It is in the third inning that Ankiel lost control. Here is the line score from that inning:

Maddux walked; Furcal popped to Clark in foul territory; Ankiel threw a wild pitch (Maddux to second); Ankiel threw a wild pitch (Maddux to third); A. Jones walked; Ankiel threw a wild pitch (A. Jones to 2nd); C. Jones was called out on strikes; Galarraga walked (Maddux scored on wild pitch by Ankiel; A. Jones to 3rd); Jordan singled to Lankford (A. Jones scored, Galarraga to 2nd); Ankiel threw a wild pitch (Galarraga to 3rd, Jordan to 2nd); Sanders walked; Weiss singled to Lankford (Galarraga scored, Jordan scored, Sanders to 2nd); James replaced Ankiel; López popped to Viña; 4 R, 2 H, 0 E, 2 LOB. Braves 4, Cardinals 6.

Ankiel shrugged off the event at first, joking about the fact that he was the first pitcher to throw five wild pitches in an inning since 1890. But in Game 2 of the National League Championship Series against the New York Mets, Ankiel was removed in the first inning. Of only 20 pitches thrown by Ankiel, five went past catcher Eli Marrero, including two official wild pitches. Ankiel appeared again in the seventh inning of game five, facing four hitters, walking two, and throwing two more wild pitches. The Cardinals lost the series four games to one to the Mets.

The source of Ankiel's problems was not mechanical. Without having faced much, if any, adversity in his pitching career, Ankiel had never learned to deal with pressure, and forced into the role of a playoff game in the majors, he began to overthink his throws, causing his wildness and inability to pitch in the strike zone. His normally fluid delivery and natural motion now seemed forced. Ankiel was never the same. To use a baseball term, he had developed the dreaded Steve Blass disease.

Aftermath

He returned to the majors in 2001 but again had issues controlling his pitches, and was sent down to AAA. Here his problems became incredibly dramatic. In 4.1 innings, Ankiel walked an amazing 17 batters and threw 12 wild pitches, accumulating an ERA of 20.77. He was sent all the way down to the Rookie League Johnson City Cardinals, where he was successful as both a starting pitcher and a part-time designated hitter [1].

In 2002, Ankiel missed the whole season with a left elbow sprain. After being cleared to throw off the mound in December of that year, Ankiel returned to the minors in [[[2003 in baseball|2003]], posting a 6.20 ERA in 10 starts before undergoing, in July, season-ending Tommy John surgery for his left elbow.

Ankiel returned to the majors in September 2004, posting a 5.40 ERA in five relief appearances. Ankiel's control was impressive, as he walked just one while striking out nine in ten innings.

On March 9, 2005, after a successful winter pitching in the Puerto Rican League, Ankiel suddenly announced that he was switching to the outfield, after an unsuccessful practice outing in which his wildness reappeared, as he threw only three strikes out of twenty pitches.

In 2006, Ankiel was invited to spring training with the major league squad again, but this time as an outfielder. He had a slim chance to make the team as a reserve player. His fielding impressed scouts and managers, and he has shown flashes of power hitting in the minor leagues. [2] However, he injured his left knee and, as of May 30, 2006, is still rehabilitating it at extended spring training. Since he is out of minor-league options, he has to go back to the major leagues when he comes off of the disabled list or else be exposed to waivers, which would allow another major-league team to claim him. [3]