Ankiel Back With Cardinals As Outfielder

Thursday, August 9th 2007, 12:41 pm

By: News On 6

ST. LOUIS (AP) _ Rick Ankiel returned to the major leagues Thursday _ as an outfielder. After flopping in his attempt to rejoin the St. Louis Cardinals as a pitcher, Ankiel rejoined the team before Thursday night's game against San Diego.

Ankiel, who turns 28 on Aug. 23, was hitting .267 with 32 homers and 89 runs batted in 102 games at Triple-A Memphis. He also struck out 90 times and had a .314 on-base percentage.

He won 11 games and struck out 194 batters in 175 innings as a 20-year-old rookie in 2000 and was a surprise pick to start the Cardinals' 2000 postseason opener against Atlanta. But he became the first major league pitcher to throw five wild pitches in one inning since Sept. 15, 1890, when Bert Cunningham did it for Buffalo of the Players League.

He threw nine wild pitches in four innings during the 2000 playoffs and never really was the same after that.

Ankiel was 1-2 with a 7.13 ERA in six starts for the Cardinals the following season, when he wound up being sent back to the minors. He missed 2002 with a left elbow sprain, then started 2003 in the minors and tore a ligament in his left elbow.

He returned to the majors in September 2004 and had a 5.40 ERA in 10 innings over five relief appearances with the Cardinals but after feeling a twinge in his elbow during winter ball in Puerto Rico, he announced on March 9, 2005, that he was switching to the outfield.

Following a 1-for-21 start, he wound up batting a combined .259 with 21 homers and 75 RBIs in 85 games split between Double-A Springfield and Class A Quad Cities, then spent the 2006 on the disabled list after hurting his left knee during a Cardinals intrasquad game early in spring training.

St. Louis, sagging after winning last year's World Series, hopes the left-handed hitter will provide a boost. Despite a 52-59 record, the Cardinals began Thursday just six games back of the NL Central-leading Milwaukee Brewers.

Ankiel has a .207 batting average in the major leagues (18-for-87) with two homers and nine RBIs.