Cardinals History: Rookie pitcher sets humiliating record in first postseason game

For a pitcher to reach the high 90s on a fastball at the turn of the century in baseball was a feat in and of itself. To strike out 10 batters per nine innings in the same era was also an anomaly. Pitching at the highest level of the minors at the age of 19 and debuting at 20 was unique. To do all of these things made a player special.

Rick Ankiel was able to accomplish each of these tasks as a rookie pitcher way back in 2000.

The St. Louis Cardinals drafted Ankiel out of Port St. Lucie High School in the second round of the 1997 MLB Draft. He ascended quickly to Triple-A in 1999, and he made his professional debut on August 23, 1999, at the ripe age of 20. Ankiel twirled five innings of three-run ball in his debut. He struck out six batters and walked only two. This was just the beginning of a strong start to his pitching career.

He would appear in nine games that year and finish with a 3.27 ERA and a 10.6 K/9 ratio in only 33 innings in his first year. Due to Ankiel's limited action in 1999, he was able to retain his rookie status in 2000.

He took his game to a new level that year. Ankiel was one of the Cardinals' key starters that year, and he put up a 3.50 ERA with 194 strikeouts in 175 innings. Mind you, he also slashed .250/.292/.382 that year with two home runs in 68 at bats. He wasn't a true two-way player in the way that Shohei Ohtani is today, but he was a good hitting pitcher for the time.

Ankiel's stellar regular season performance allowed manager Tony La Russa to start Ankiel in Game 1 of the 2000 NLDS against the Atlanta Braves. Things didn't go so well for him there.

Today marks the 25th anniversary of St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Rick Ankiel setting a major league record for wild pitches in one inning as a rookie pitcher against the Atlanta Braves.

On October 3rd, the Cardinals and Braves kicked off the NLDS at Busch Stadium. The Cardinals came out swinging and gave Ankiel a six-run lead after the first inning. That lead didn't last long.

When the Braves came up to bat in the top of the third inning, Ankiel had only allowed three base runners. He was dialed in, and he was outdueling Greg Maddux, a future Hall of Famer, up to that point. It all unravelled for him in the top of the third inning, though.

Greg Maddux came up to bat first in the top of the third. Ankiel walked him to start the inning, a bad omen for what was to come. His first wild pitch was a curveball that he spiked in the dirt. He followed that up with a pair of pitches way up high in the zone. At this point, Ankiel was becoming outwardly frustrated with himself.

One of Ankiel's wild pitches brought Greg Maddux home while Andres Galarraga was up to bat. The Braves would go on to score four runs in this inning to bring the game much closer than it should have been.

This was the beginning of the end for Ankiel's pitching career. He admitted to drinking vodka before games in the 2001 season after he developed the "yips." In his book, The Phenomenon: Pressure, the Yips, and the Pitch that Changed My Life, Ankiel details these events in his baseball career. He looks back on these wild pitches as moments that altered his mindset and, in turn, his career.

Rick made six starts in 2001, but he pitched only 24 innings and had a 7.13 ERA. He did not play in 2002 due to undergoing Tommy John surgery, and he spent 2003 recovering. He pitched in five games in 2004, but his pitching career was all but over up to that point. He announced in 2005 that he was done pitching and would instead restart his career as an outfielder.

This transition went well for him overall: From 2007-2009, Ankiel slashed .255/.315/.465 for the Cardinals with 47 home runs. He was able to turn his rocket of an arm while pitching into a cannon in the outfield as well.

Ankiel's story is also in the process of becoming a movie. It was announced on July 23, 2024, that he was working on a script for the film, and the story will end on his first home run after returning to the majors in 2007.