Fansided

MLB: 8 of baseball’s most infamous one-year wonders

By Ryan Morik

DETROIT - SEPTEMBER 3: Joel Zumaya #54 of the Detroit Tigers pitches against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim on September 3, 2006 at Comerica Park in Detroit, Michigan. Los Angeles won the game 2-1. (Photo By Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)
DETROIT - SEPTEMBER 3: Joel Zumaya #54 of the Detroit Tigers pitches against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim on September 3, 2006 at Comerica Park in Detroit, Michigan. Los Angeles won the game 2-1. (Photo By Gregory Shamus/Getty Images) /
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9 Apr 2000: Rick Ankiel #66 of the St. Louis Cardinals winds back to pitch the ball during a game against the Milwaukee Brewers at the Bush Stadium in St. Louis, Missouri. The Cardinals defeated the Brewers 11-2. Mandatory Credit: Elsa Hasch /Allsport
9 Apr 2000: Rick Ankiel #66 of the St. Louis Cardinals winds back to pitch the ball during a game against the Milwaukee Brewers at the Bush Stadium in St. Louis, Missouri. The Cardinals defeated the Brewers 11-2. Mandatory Credit: Elsa Hasch /Allsport /

Rick Ankiel

11-7, 3.50 ERA, 194 strikeouts, 1.21 WHIP, 2nd place in 2000 NL Rookie of the Year voting

Rick Ankiel is of course best known for arguably the worst case of the yips ever. To be honest, watching baseball as a kid, I had no idea of Ankiel’s true story. I thought he was just a pretty good hitting outfielder. But that part of his career began when a once potentially dominant arm all of a sudden couldn’t find the strike zone.

Ankiel was a solid pitcher for the Cardinals at the start of his career, making 30 starts in 2000 while striking out nearly 10 batters per nine innings.

The then-rookie earned the Game 1 start of the 2000 NLDS. He threw five wild pitches in one inning and walked six batters, allowed four earned in 2.2 innings. In a start against the Mets in the NLCS, he threw four wild pitches, walked five batters, and allowed three runs in 1.1 innings. He pitched just 34 more big league innings, and walked 26 guys while racking up a 6.62 ERA in that span.

Even when he went down to the minor leagues, it was putrid. In three starts at Triple-A in 2001, he allowed 10 earned runs in 4.1 innings – that’s a 20.77 ERA. He had 12 wild pitches, and walked 17 guys compared to just four strikeouts. He owned a WHIP of 4.615. It was so bad, he had to go to rookie ball. He was pretty good there, owning a 1.33 ERA in 14 starts.

After missing the 2002 season with injury, he pitched mostly in Double-A in 2003, where he posted a 6.29 ERA. His pitching career was essentially over.

So he went to hitting…

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