America loves a good redemption story. One of those redemption stories is that of Rick Ankiel. A couple of weeks back while finishing my degree coursework, I casually strolled upon this tweet from my buddy Eric Arditti from Barstool Sports:
To which I replied…
And he replied back…
That got me thinking about the forgotten redemption of one Rick Ankiel.
The Prospect
Ankiel was drafted by the St. Louis Cardinals in the 1997 MLB Draft after being named High School Baseball of the Year by USA Today. During his time in the Carolina and Midwest Leagues, he became the Cardinals’ top prospect. Ankiel struck out 222 batters while splitting time between the Carolina and Midwest Leagues in 1998. On August 23, 1999, at the age of 20, Ankiel made his MLB debut in Montreal. He didn’t have a great outing, lasting five innings and allowing three runs on five hits. Ankiel experienced growing pains in 1999, but better days were to come in 2000.
The Rise
The next season, Ankiel joined the rotation on a full-time basis. He finished with an 11-7 record in 30 starts, striking out 197 with a rate of nearly 10 batters per nine innings. He finished second to Atlanta SS Rafael Furcal in the NL Rookie of the Year voting but did win Sporting News’ Rookie Pitcher of the Year award. While he excelled in the regular season, it was in the playoffs where Ankiel’s story arc took a tragic turn.
Cardinals manager Tony LaRussa gave Ankiel the nod to start Game 1 of the NLDS. The rookie got off to a good start, but the third inning is where everything started to unravel. Ankiel allowed four runs on two hits, walked four Atlanta batters, and threw five wild pitches. He was yanked by LaRussa but the Cardinals eventually won the game on their way to a three-game sweep.
The Fall
If the NLDS was an omen, then the NLCS was the fulfillment of Ankiel’s problems. In game two, Ankiel did not get out of the first inning. He was removed after 0.2 IP following a 20-pitch inning where he walked three batters, threw two wild pitches, and allowed two earned runs. Ankiel would reemerge in the seventh inning of Game 5, but his struggles continued. He threw only 17 pitches, walked two batters, and threw two wild pitches as the New York Mets romped to a series-concluding 7-0 win.
Ankiel and his location issues would come back in 2001; after six starts, he was demoted to Triple-A. The Cardinals hoped he would resolve his location problems, but his ERA ballooned to over 20 in 4.1 IP Ankiel was demoted down further to Rookie League. It looked like he was starting to turn things around as he won pitcher of the year in the Appalachian League. Ankiel was also starting to find his form as a fill-in designated hitter as he hit 10 HR, a sign of things to come.
Injuries and Rock Bottom
Ankiel sat out the 2002 season and did not throw again until December that year. He came back to the minors in 2003 and started 10 games with an ERA of 6.29. Ankiel underwent Tommy John surgery and reemerged in 2004 and made five relief appearances for the Cardinals. He wouldn’t appear again in the Majors again as he switched to the outfield following a horrible Spring training game and spent 2005 in Single and Double-A ball.
Ankiel came back to Spring training in 2006 and while he didn’t make the Cardinals’ main roster, he did stay in the minors. He continued to improve his hitting until a knee injury sidelined him at the end of May.
The Redemption
The 2007 season is where Rick Ankiel’s redemption story begins to take shape. He returned to Spring training the following February and started the season in Triple-A. Ankiel’s heavy bat and impressive defense earned him an All-Star appearance for the Pacific League. On August 9th, he was promoted to St. Louis and hit a three-run home run in his first game back. It was the first time since 1947 that a player hit a home run as a pitcher and as a positional player. Ankiel remained with the Cardinals for the remainder of the season and finished with 11 HR and batted .285.
Ankiel never went back to the minors and remained with the Cardinals until 2010, when he signed with Kansas City. He was traded to Atlanta at the trade deadline and made his first playoff appearance as a positional player. In game two of the NLDS against San Francisco, he became only the second player to hit a home run into McCovey Cove during the postseason.
The Remainder and History
Ankiel played for three more seasons with Washington, Houston, and the New York Mets before finally hanging up his cleats in March 2014. He finished with a .240 lifetime average and 76 HR. Ankiel and Babe Ruth are the only two players in Major League history who has 10 wins as a pitcher and at least 50 career HRs. He and Ruth are also the only two players in history to win a game as a pitcher and hit a home run in the postseason.
The redemption story of Rick Ankiel should be one that is celebrated as one of the willingness to change to help his team succeed. His career took many twists and turns, but his perseverance is what made his story great.
Feel free to leave a comment about Ankiel’s career below or hit me up on Twitter, @WhoIsRyanMcC. And get more of your baseball fix on Belly Up Sports!
