Former St. Louis Cardinals outfielder and pitcher Rick Ankiel is retiring from professional baseball, according to Cardinals TV broadcaster Dan McLaughlin, who announced the news during the team's spring training game on Wednesday.
Rick Ankiel to retire from professional baseball
After a remarkable career, Rick Ankiel has decided to retire from baseball and will seek a front office gig with the Cardinals.
Bob Levey
McLaughlin also stated that Ankiel hopes to join the Cardinals front office after debuting with the team back in 1999 and spending seven major league seasons as a player in the organization.
The 34-year-old Ankiel had an atypical baseball career to say the least, initially rising through the minors as a highly touted pitching prospect before getting injured, struggling with bad control and mental issues, and bouncing out of baseball entirely back in 2002. As a pitcher, Ankiel had his best season in 2000 when he finished with a 3.50 ERA and 194 strikeouts in 30 starts. Control problems and an arm injury would flare up during his 2001 season, though, limiting him to just six starts and a 7.13 ERA before he sat out the entire 2002 campaign.
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A brief attempt at a comeback in 2004 fizzled out before Ankiel decided to give hitting a try. The former pitcher made the switch to outfield in 2005, beginning down in Single-A and working his way back to the majors in 2007 at the age of 28. Ankiel famously hit a three-run home run during his first game back in an August matchup with the San Diego Padres. Over the next two months, he batted .285/.328/.535 with 11 home runs in 190 plate appearances.
Ankiel would play two more seasons in St. Louis, belting 25 home runs in 2008 and 11 in 2009 before moving onto the Royals and Braves in 2010. Two more years with the Nationals followed before Ankiel finished up his final MLB season in 2013 with the Astros and Mets. No longer a starter, Ankiel still served as a pinch hitter off the bench in his last few seasons, striking out at a high rate, but also continuing to showcase a fair amount of pop in his bat.
Ankiel’s final career numbers don’t particularly stand out, but the 11-year MLB veteran still had a remarkable career. He could have called it quits back in 2004 when his days as a pitcher came to an end. Yet the outfielder went back down to the minors before carving out a respectable career as a hitter.
Now, at the age of 34, he’ll look to continue his career with the Cardinals in their front office.
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