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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JUPITER, FL – FEBRUARY 26: Outfielder Rick Ankiel #49 of the St. Louis Cardinals poses during Photo Day on February 26, 2007 at the Roger Dean Stadium in Jupiter, Florida. (Photo by Doug Benc/Getty Images)
JUPITER, FL – FEBRUARY 26: Outfielder Rick Ankiel #49 of the St. Louis Cardinals poses during Photo Day on February 26, 2007 at the Roger Dean Stadium in Jupiter, Florida. (Photo by Doug Benc/Getty Images) /

Rick Ankiel, again

.285/.328/.535, 11 home runs, 39 RBI in 2007

Ugh. Poor Rick Ankiel. It was an impossible comeback. He reinvented himself into an outfielder, and once again became a fan favorite. In his first 23 games as a full-time offensive player, he hit .358 and had a 1.174 OPS. But, because it’s Rick Ankiel, his success was short lived, and he went on to slash .220/.250/.330 in the remaining 24 games that season.

He actually was pretty decent the next season, blasting 25 homers. But from 2009 to his retirement in 2013, he owned a disappointing .676 OPS and hit just 38 home runs in that span, as compared to 36 dingers in his first 162 games as an outfielder.

While making 14 starts in rookie ball in 2001, he earned plenty of at bats, too. Seventeen of his 30 hits there went for extra bases, as he slashed .286/.364/.638. As previously mentioned, he missed the 2002 season, and had limited at bats the next two years. But after 102 games at Triple-A in 2007, he returned to the bigs and put up the numbers previously mentioned.

But Ankiel could not remain the same. Poor guy. It was fun while it lasted.

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