Help building the largest human-edited directory of the web Suggest URL - Open Directory Project - Become an editor

directopedia.org uses links and structure from dmoz Open Directory Project.
The contents has been generating using technology developed by scientec.

Rick Ankiel was born on July 19, 1979, in Fort Pierce, Florida. He is currently an outfielder in the St. Louis Cardinals's farm system.

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 made it to the postseason in 2000 after a decade of futility. It is then that Manager Tony La Russa made the decision which he regrets perhaps more than any other in his career. Due to the health problems of his starting pitching rotation, Ankiel and fellow pitcher Darryl Kile were 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 4 days of rest between starts, La Russa penciled in Ankiel to start Game 1 of the National League Division Series against the Atlanta Braves, where he would be facing 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 6 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 unscatched. 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; Lopez popped to Vina; 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 5 wild pitches in an inning since 1890. But against the Mets in the NLCS, Ankiel was pulled after only 20 pitches, 5 of which were wild.

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.

Aftermath

He returned to the majors in 2001 but again had issues controlling his pitches and was sent to the 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, 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 of 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 3 strikes out of 20 pitches. [2]

This article is based on the article "Rick Ankiel" from Wikipedia - the free encyclopedia created and edited by online user community. This article is distributed under the terms of GNU Free Documentation License. Here you find the list of authors of this article. The article can only edited within Wikipedia. Edit this article in Wikipedia.