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Originally Posted by TAFKAS
Yeah. He suddenly couldn't throw a baseball from second to first base. His throws were all over the place
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Yeah, major meltdown. It was tough to watch, no matter what team you rooted for.
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An even worse meltdown was Rick Ankiel. He went from great pitcher to not even being able to throw the ball anywhere near the catcher. It was all mental. The pressure of the big leagues made him into a headcase. He gave up pitching and came back with the Cards as an outfielder a few years later and still plays there.
The left-hander made it to the major leagues at age 19 and was 11-7 with a 3.50 ERA with 194 strikeouts in 175 innings in 2000 but developed record-setting wildness in the playoffs. In the postseason opener against Atlanta, he became the first major league pitcher since 1890 to throw five wild pitches in one inning and had nine wild pitches in four innings during the postseason.
He went 1-2 with a 7.13 ERA in six starts for the Cardinals in 2001, walking 25 in 24 innings, then was sent to the minors.
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http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=2008633
11-29-2006, 01:24 PM
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