Redemption

Of all the interesting plays and moments from the first round of the playoffs, the one that made me the happiest as a fan AND as a human being was Rick Ankiel's game-winning home run for the Braves in San Francisco in Game #2.  For those who don't remember, Ankiel first appeared in a playoff game 10 years ago for the St. Louis Cardinals as a 21 year old hot-shot pitcher with one of the liveliest left arms you'll ever see.  Going 11-7 in 2000, he had a K/IP ratio of 9.98, second only to Randy Johnson in the NL that year.  Tony LaRussa tabbed him to start Game #1 against Atlanta in the Division Series, but in the third inning of that game he broke down.  I don't mean that he became injured; I mean that right there before the nation's eyes, he lost his ability to throw a baseball.  Ankiel walked 4 that inning and threw 5 wild pitches.

Starting Game #2 of the Championship Series, he was yanked in the first inning after 20 pitches, 5 of which sailed over his catcher's head.  He appeared in the 7th inning of Game #5 and walked two batters and threw two more wild pitches.  In 2001 he was quickly sent down to Memphis to work on his control, but his condition deteriorated rapidly as you can see in this home video.  Watch if you want, but it's not for the faint of heart.  The crowd yells derisively and, blurry as the video is, and shot through the screen to boot, Ankiel may be seen struggling to act normally, struggling to believe that the next pitch will get him back on track.  He never got back on track.  Not as a pitcher, at any rate, but he did transform himself into an outfielder and made it back to St. Louis as such in August of 2007.

Even now, few people realize that Ankiel's troubles have a name:  Repetitive Sports Performance Problem.  This occurs when a player suddenly can't do something that he's done thousands of times since childhood.  It's one thing to make a bad throw or to have an erratic throwing arm.  It is an entirely different thing to be helpless; and to be helpless when thousands of fans are depending on you is wretched.  I remember feeling sick watching Rick Ankiel break down before the entire country and that is why I am so elated for him that he came back; came all the way back to turn in a perfect performance in at least one at-bat in the playoffs.

In spite of his pitching disaster in 2000, Rick Ankiel can now say that he is one of two players in the history of baseball to start a post-season game as a pitcher and also to hit a post-season game-winning home run.  The other is Babe Ruth.