I keep having this thought.In my imagination, the Cardinals have overtaken the Brewers and Cubs to win the NL Central. They are in the playoffs, but it doesn't matter in what round or who against.
St. Louis gets immersed in a long extra-inning game, you know, the kind where pitchers come into the game as pinch hitters.
As the game stretches into the early morning hours, Tony La Russa is forced to look down his bench. Now that the bullpen has been exhausted, he wonders who might be available to pitch.
He locks eyes with Ankiel. Forget an experimental knuckle ball, this guy used to be a pitching phenom.
Ankiel has secretly been waiting for this moment for years. He's found a niche as an outfielder, but Ankiel is a competitive man, and his present successes are brought into context by the painful memories of the past.
"I'll do it, Coach," he says, nodding.
In my dream scenario, Ankiel regains his old form, pitching a flawless inning or two for the victory. St. Louis then retrains Ankiel as a pitcher, and the 28-year-old goes on to become the first heavy-hitting, everyday-playing pitcher in a long, long time.
Rick Ankiel as the next Babe Ruth? It's doubtful, but it's certainly fun to imagine.
2 comments:
Im at Farmers in Federal Way.
I went to the Rainiers game a few days before Ankiel got called up and I was hoping to get to see him but he was out of the lineup that night. Fun story though. I hope he becomes a consistent 30HR 100RBI guy.
That would be pretty sweet... I actually really wonder how Ankiel would do if he went back to pitching, now that his head seems to be on straight again. It'd be really interesting.
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