Thursday, July 21, 2005

Rick Ankiel

For those who are interested, former Cardinals pitcher Rick Ankiel is batting .287-11-39 in 43 games with the Swing of Quad Cities (Class A) as he attempts to return to the majors as an outfielder. He has walked 21 times and struck out 32.

It's still hard to believe how the wheels came off for that guy. At the age of 20 he was 11-8 with a 3.46 ERA (which was more than a run less than the NL average). Then came that awful 2000 postseason. After that, he was unable to throw the ball over the plate. The next season he only pitched 24 innings and walked 25 batters. His ERA was over 7. How does that happen?

Anyway, I had him on my fantasy team -- traded Vinny Castilla for him when Ankiel was still in the minors -- so I'd like to see him make it back.

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