Former major league pitcher/outfielder Rick Ankiel is nearing “decision time” regarding his potential comeback, agent Scott Boras told Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. It’s unlikely the soon-to-be 40-year-old Ankiel will continue his bid to return to the game, though, Goold writes.
Ankiel, who last played in the majors in 2013, first declared his intention to come back last August. Although Ankiel hasn’t pitched in the bigs since 2004, he was hoping to return as a southpaw reliever. However, Ankiel hasn’t bounced back from the surgery he underwent in November to repair his damaged left ulnar collateral ligament, per Goold, who hears that his recovery has “plateaued.”
Had Ankiel been healthy, it seems he would have been given a realistic chance to vie for a spot with the Cardinals – who originally chose him in the second round of the 1997 draft. According to Goold, the Cardinals checked on Ankiel sometime in the past month to see if he was in shape to sign a minor league contract, but president of baseball operations John Mozeliak didn’t hear back.
Ankiel shined at times as both a pitcher and a hitter in St. Louis. In 2000, his best season as a hurler, Ankiel notched a 3.50 ERA with 3.4 fWAR and 9.98 K/9 against 4.63 BB/9 over 175 innings. A lack of control became a major problem for Ankiel the year after, however, and an extreme case of the yips forced him to transition from the mound to the outfield.
Ankiel didn’t garner a large number of at-bats in a season until 2007, the beginning of a two-year stretch in which he slashed .270/.334/.515 (120 wRC+) with 36 home runs and 3.1 fWAR in 653 plate appearances. Ankiel went on to appear in the majors in each of the next five seasons, also spending time with the Royals, Braves, Nationals, Astros and Mets, but experienced limited success with those clubs.
Lots of respect for guys who love the game and aren’t ready to give it up. Gotta be hard to accept that the game you love, excelled at and dreamed about playing from your childhood is behind you. Many have those dreams of playing in the big leagues, few get there. Props to him on a rollercoaster, yet relatively solid career.
Bro we gots to talk about that 88 diamond tho
WTHeck?
Lol legit tho
Was not expecting you to pop up here, DD. One of my fav streamers.
Thank you my dood
Agreed. Can’t believe he’s almost 40 already. Always root for a fighter like this.
He gave back money to sign as a position player, $1-2,000,000 I belt. Shows something to me. Best throws from the outfield I think I’ve ever seen. Vlad may have been harder, but watch him nail a dude at third, throws it to Glaus, Glaus fakes the guy out. Best I’ve seen, then he did it again in the same game. After the first throw I’d have quit testing him. I’d like to see him sign, as a ph’er, defensive replacement, and extra arm.
Are there any articles to document he gave money back to the Cards? I have a hard time believing the union would have allowed that.
Bo Jackson used to throw players out at the plate flat footed
Bummer. I was excited about the possibility. Back to Fox Sports I guess. He was fun to watch!
Sad to see him go! Such a competitor and never gave up when everyone else was writing him off! The last of the warriors left out there. Good luck in your retirement Rick, you will be missed dearly by this old aging ball hog.
Now Mozeliak can sign Jason Motte as his alternate plan.
We need another southpaw… Maybe we can give a call to Arthur Rhodes
just need pitchers that get outs, whether they throw left of right
Dude, do you ever comment in the positive? Man I am blessed that I don’t live in that brain of yours. What an ugly existence!
Ray King still alive?
Wow, you are obsessed. You seriously have a problem. You should start charging rent to Mozeliak because he is taking up a LOT of space in your head. Dude owns you.
Although it was for a short period, the man had some success on the bump and at the plate. That tells me all I need to know about his work ethic.
And he retained Boras as his agent!? Not a good look…..
Can we get a status update on Rafael Palmeiro’s comeback?..
Seriously though, too bad for Ankiel. Worth a shot! Despite all the adversity, still a pretty solid playing career. I would imagine he has a lot of opportunities to work in the game
I love the Rick Ankiel story of never giving up. if you click the hyperlink to the youtube of the wild pitches, you can show a young player how mechanics are so important. On all those wild pitches you see 6 different issues.
I know it was a mental break, but you talk about mechanics and I agree. Dave Duncan was one of the worst at developing young arms I’ve ever seen. Every other good pitching coach will be able to identify the problem and fix it. When he went out and talked to the pitcher nothing changed. He was fantastic at finding guys off the scrap heap and reviving their careers (which honestly was just teaching them the cutter before other guys used the cutter; all of his Cy Young award pitchers were all later in their careers). I still believe that had Ankiel been on the Braves or the Yankees he would just now be finishing up his Hall of Fame pitching career.
We’re all told we can no longer play the game. Some of us are told at 18, others at 40, but were all told -Moneyball
I know Ankiel could be a better hitter right now than “Wait for a walk” Carpenter or “100 strikeouts in the first half” Goldschmidt!!!!!
No you don’t.
Maybe he should hop on the HGH again…. he is a cheater not a hero.
HGH? refresh my memory. was that established? or rumor? thanks.
It was established after about the 5th surgery. He wasn’t a cheater. He was a guy desperate to keep playing the game and have the career he loved. In the 70s and 80s most players were hopped up on emphedimines because that’s what they had at their disposal to help. Are they all cheats?
Maybe Ankiel can play 3rd base. He couldn’t hit as bad as Carpenter is right now.