Rick Ankiel

Baseball Player

A left-handed pitcher for the St. Louis Cardinals, Ankiel grabbed public attention in the fall of 2000 when he lost his ability to throw strikes. After posting a successful 11-7 record during the season, Ankiel suddenly lost control in a playoff game against the Atlanta Braves, throwing pitch after pitch over his catcher's head and into the backstop. With no physical problems evident, it was presumed that Ankiel's problems were psychological. Ankiel returned to the Cardinals in 2001 but his problems resumed, and he was sent to the minor leagues. After further struggles he abandoned pitching in 2005 and switched positions, signing a minor-league contract with the Cardinals as an outfielder. He missed the entire 2006 season with a knee injury, but in August of 2007 he made an auspicious return to the major leagues, hitting a home run in his first game as an outfielder with the Cardinals.

Extra credit: Other baseball players who have had similar throwing troubles include second basemen Chuck Knoblauch and Steve Sax and pitcher Steve Blass.

Blog posts mentioning Rick Ankiel:
Ankiel's (Wildly) Successful Return