Tuesday, March 27, 2018

The Yips

When I got to my parents after my trip to Idaho for Spring Break, I saw a St. Louis Cardinals pennant on their table. I asked my mom where it came from, because I hadn't seen it before. They had gotten it for ME after they dropped me off at the airport. They had actually bought two different pennants and let my brother-in-law pick which one he wanted first. I started looking at mine a little closer and noticed it was the 2000 National League Central Division Championship pennant. What an odd coincidence!

While I don't particularly like reading, I do make myself read. In college, I realized I enjoy reading biographies, so that's what I tend to read now. Over Spring Break, I read Rick Ankiel's autobiography. My guess is most people reading this don't know who he is, so allow me to enlighten you.

Rick Ankiel, St. Louis Cardinals pitcher, eh, outfielder...

Rick Ankiel made his major league debut at 20 years of age with the St. Louis Cardinals in 1999 as a pitcher. (It doesn't take an obsessed baseball fan to know that 20 years old is very young to start a professional sports career.) He was brought up to the majors, like many minor leaguers, in August.

The following season, he began his rookie year in the starting rotation, quite impressive for only being 21. Ankiel finished 2nd in votes for the 2000 Rookie of the Year in the National League. He was good.

That October, the Cardinals made Post Season. The rookie was set to make his Post Season debut in Game 1 of the Division Series against Atlanta. The Cardinals were leading in the 3rd inning when Ank headed back out to the pitcher's mound.

He threw a wild pitch. That happens to pitchers on occasion, no big deal. Until he threw another wild pitch. Then another. And another. A total of 5 wild pitches, 4 runs scored on 2 hits, and 4 walks in the 3rd inning.

For whatever reason, Rick's body, mind, or soul wouldn't allow him to throw a pitch correctly. He ended his rookie year Post Season with 5 innings, 9 (kind of 13) wild pitches, and 11 walks.

The Yips.

The Monster.

The Thing.

Almost 20 years later, people still don't know what exactly happened to Ankiel on the mound nor what to call it. He uses The Yips, The Monster, and The Thing interchangeably in his autobiography.

However, stopping there wouldn't be much of a story, nor would it give much reason to him writing an autobiography.

He tried to come back in 2001 as a starting pitcher. He made 6 starts and tried everything to calm the nerves, anxiety, and voices in his head. It worked temporarily, but after his 6th start the pressure was too much and he asked Tony La Russa to send him down to the Minors.

Ank worked and worked to make his way back to the big leagues. I hate to imagine the amount of damage he did to his body trying to quiet The Monster. Finally, when he was 25 he walked into La Russa's office during Spring Training, said he was done, he couldn't do it anymore, and retired.

Retired. At 25. The only life he'd ever known. The life that was supposed to be better for him. Give him a way out of his difficult family life. A father who only wanted his money, was in and out of prison, making sure Rick knew he was worthless if he couldn't throw a strike.

Luckily, Ankiel's manager and psychiatrist (who had become like a father to Rick) had an idea, if they could get him on board with it. The pressure was on his pitching, but he had a decent bat, he had been a DH in the minors on days he didn't pitch. He should give outfield a shot.

La Russa and the rest of the Cardinals staff were all in agreement to give him a chance. I think they all had a soft spot for him, because no one in the world could explain what happened to his arm, or mind, 4 years earlier.

Finally in August of 2007, nearly 7 years after The Yips first inhabited him, he made his way back to the big leagues. Under the stadium lights, in his first game, he hit a home run. The St. Louis crowd went wild. Many of them knew his story, they knew the battle he had fought to return for this moment, and they were elated for him. La Russa, a man of one expression, even cracked a wide smile when Ankiel hit that home run. Bystanders in St. Louis that night said they knew something impressive happened at Busch that night, because the uproar could be heard all around the city.

Maybe even more impressive than his bat was his arm. Twice in one game that 2007 season, Ankiel launched a ball from center field to 3rd base for an out. He couldn't throw a ball 6o feet 6 inches for a strike, but give him 250-300 feet from the outfield to 3rd base, not being able to see his target, no problem!

Ankiel was back. He went on to play 3 seasons in St. Louis. He played for various other teams until he retired, again, in 2013. Now you can find him on Fox Sports Midwest from time to time, analyzing Cardinals games and inspiring young players who deal with anxiety.

There's a lot more to his story than can be written in an informative blog. If you like biographies and baseball, I recommend his book The Phenomenon: Pressure, the Yips, and the Pitch that Changed My Life. It's not an extraordinarily written book, but it sure is a beautiful and inspirational picture of redemption.

Getting the St. Louis Cardinals pennant from my parents made me happy. I love getting new Cardinals memorabilia. However, when I saw it was from the 2000 season, more specifically the NLDS Championship pennant, it gave me goosebumps. My parents didn't know I was reading Rick Ankiel's book during Spring Break. My brother-in-law just happened to leave that 2000 pennant to be mine. That season, more specifically, that NLDS series, was the series in which made Rick Ankiel the Phenomenon. It gave him the Yips, the Monster, the Thing, but it also made his story an inspiration to reach a lot more people. Now when I see my pennant, I'll be reminded of his story, his book, and my first trip to Idaho.

For any nerds like me, a link to watch Ankiel's career unravel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KDZX525CSvw 

His come back home run at 2 minutes 40 seconds: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tcWO0eBjh6Y

Ankiel's impressive throws to third: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0cSgDflCF98

IS IT THURSDAY YET?!?!

1 comment:

  1. I know very little about baseball, but you're like the CliffsNotes to the St. Louis Cardinals! I feel like I learn a lot about them with your blog posts.

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