It seems that most of what we read on the sports pages these days is misery. Michael Vick is going to face a jury of his peers for allegedly participating in dog fighting. Barry Bonds recently became the home run king, amidst a plethora of allegations that he was using steroids for a significant part of his playing career. And, the Cincinnati Bengals can’t seem to stop getting arrested! (sorry Bengals fans.) Out of this mire of gloom and doom, here’s a story we can actually smile about.
Dateline 2000. The St. Louis Cardinals call up a young pitching prospect named Rick Ankiel. The kid seems to have all the right stuff. He has a respectable rookie year winning 11, losing 7 and striking out 194. Hopes were high and the future looked bright. And then came October 3, 2000.
Ankiel started the Cardinals’ playoff game vs. the Atlanta Braves. He was pitching with a lead, in the third inning of the game, when the proverbial wheels suddenly fell off. All of a sudden, Ankiel couldn’t throw the ball over the plate! He became the first player in major league baseball history to throw 5 wild pitches in one inning of a game. That would be like the Cardinals allowing a 10 year old to go out to the mound and attempt to throw the ball to the catcher. (Actually, to be honest, the 10 year old would probably get the ball across the plate at least once.)
Ankiel had lost it. With no rhyme or reason, this once promising pitcher had lost his control over the baseball. He would stay within in the Cardinals’ baseball system for some years, but, following a series of injuries, it became clear that his pitching career was over. At this point, many players, and many baseball clubs would have mutually given up. But Ankiel had another idea. What if he came back - as a hitter?
Many must have been skeptical. I mean, who did Ankiel think he was? Babe Ruth? (Ruth was an outstanding pitcher as well as being one of baseball’s most prolific hitters of all time.) But Ankiel was not deterred, and neither, surprisingly, were the St. Louis Cardinals. They agreed to let Ankiel stay in their minor-league system and try it out. Their loyalty was enough to encourage Ankiel to go for his comeback. In 2005 the experiment began.
The experiment ended a few days ago. The Cardinals, pleased with the way Ankiel had been playing in the minor leagues, and needing a hitter, decided to call Ankiel up. He had done it! Rick Ankiel had made it all the way back to Major League Baseball in a totally different position! The re-debut of Ankiel came on August 9th, 2007. As the kid first stepped to the plate, the entire stadium rose to its feet, cheering and clapping. And then, unbelievably, it happened.
In the 7th inning, Ankiel stepped up to face San Diego Padres’ pitcher Doug Brocail. And wouldn’t you know, Ankiel took Brocial’s 4th pitch and hit it 384 feet. A three-run homerun. The fans went nuts, the St. Louis players went nuts. Even the Cardinals’ usually stoic manager, Tony LaRussa, went totally nuts. Close to tears at the end of the game, manager LaRussa said “It’s very emotional. I’m fighting my butt off just to try to keep it together right now. He’s a very special young man.”
This is more than just a story about a baseball player who hit a homerun. This is the story of a young man, and a ball club, who never gave up. When the easiest and most logical thing to do would have been to quit, neither the Cardinals nor Ankiel did so. What Rick Ankiel’s story embodies for all of us is the well worn adage that we know, but sometimes don’t believe. If at first you don’t succeed try, try again. You’ll truly never know what’s possible if you quit.
~Facts about Rick Ankiel’s baseball career were gleaned from these sources~
-nylons73
Even as a San Diego Padres fan I have to say that was a great event. Thanks for reminding us that all athletes aren’t all hooligans and felons!