Ankiel, Rick

Rick Ankiel (1980 - )
Baseball player
Frustrated Ankiel to try the outfield
His pitching career marred by injuries, Rick Ankiel shocked the Cardinals by saying he'll be an outfielder.
by Kevin Baxter [email protected]
Jupiter -- Left-hander Rick Ankiel, whose once-promising career was plagued by injuries and wildness, announced Wednesday he is giving up pitching and will try to make the St. Louis Cardinals' roster as an outfielder.
"The frustration I built up, it just seemed like it was eroding my spirit and started to affect my personality," Ankiel said. "It just became apparent that it was time for me to move on."
Ankiel, 25, has not pitched in a spring training game this year, though the Cardinals had planned to start him in a B game with the Marlins that was canceled by rain Wednesday. General manager Walt Jocketty said he was "in shock" when Cardinal manager Tony La Russa informed him of Ankiel's decision this week, but added that the team is "fully supportive of Rick's decision."
Quick Decline
Ankiel made his major-league debut at 19, going 11-7 with a 3.50 ERA and 194 strikeouts in 175 innings to help the Cardinals win the National League Central Division title in 1999. But he suffered a meltdown in the playoffs, walking 11 batters in four innings, and a year later, he couldn't find the plate, walking 24 in 25 innings before being demoted to the minors.
He did not pitch in the majors again until September, missing 2002 with a sprained left elbow and most of the past two seasons because of reconstructive elbow surgery.
The Cardinals were hopeful he might have put his problems behind after a 10 inning stint as a reliever last summer and a winter in which he struck out 31 batters and walked just seven in 272/3 innings in Puerto Rico. But Ankiel said lingering pain in his elbow made it difficult for him to stay consistent with his mechanics, and after throwing just three strikes in 23 pitches during his last batting practice session, he decided to make a change.
In Puerto Rico
"In Puerto Rico, when I was out there and I wasn't physically right, I started to change my mechanics a little bit to deal with the pain. Ever since then, I wasn't able to really put it all together," Ankiel said. "Being that frustrated, it's hard to leave your business at the field. You're constantly thinking about it.
"I don't want to go through that. There's more to life than that."
The idea of moving Ankiel to the outfield has been floated before, especially after he hit 10 home runs in 105 at-bats to make the rookie-level Appalachian League All-Star team as a part-time designated hitter in 2001. In the majors, Ankiel is a .207 lifetime hitter with two homers and nine RBI in 87 at-bats.
"Turn the page, that's it. I think it will be exciting," Ankiel said of the switch.
Source: The Herald, March 10, 2005.