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Via our own Matthew Pouliot, who was watching the Cardinals spring training broadcast just now when the announcers revealed this: Rick Ankiel has officially retired and apparently hopes to join a front office in some capacity.
Ankiel ended up having just one good full season as a position player after his hugely promising pitching career was ruined by extreme control problems, but event that’s pretty damn remarkable considering he didn’t become a full-time hitter until age 27.
Ankiel smacked 25 homers in 413 at-bats for the Cardinals in 2008, but then hit just .229 with a grand total of 38 homers and a .676 OPS in 431 games from 2009-2013 while bouncing around with a bunch of different teams.
It’s a shame we never got to see what he was fully capable of as a pitcher, because based on his minor-league track record, stud prospect status, and excellent rookie season he was on a path to become one of the best left-handers in baseball. He still ended up having a very memorable career, though, and made an awful lot of fans along the way.
Ankiel ended up having just one good full season as a position player after his hugely promising pitching career was ruined by extreme control problems, but event that’s pretty damn remarkable considering he didn’t become a full-time hitter until age 27.
Ankiel smacked 25 homers in 413 at-bats for the Cardinals in 2008, but then hit just .229 with a grand total of 38 homers and a .676 OPS in 431 games from 2009-2013 while bouncing around with a bunch of different teams.
It’s a shame we never got to see what he was fully capable of as a pitcher, because based on his minor-league track record, stud prospect status, and excellent rookie season he was on a path to become one of the best left-handers in baseball. He still ended up having a very memorable career, though, and made an awful lot of fans along the way.
Wish he would have given pitching one more shot, but I'm sure he didn't want to go through that again. Pretty fascinating career with his highs and low both on the mound and at the dish.
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