Ankiel bows
St. Louis Cardinals' near-great Rick Ankiel announced his retirement today after 15 absorbing seasons in professional baseball. At SportsOnEarth.com, Deadspin founder and Cards fan Will Leitch pays tribute to the one-of-a-kind player he calls his all-time favorite.
This 2007 Ankiel home run-- in his first MLB game as an outfielder, on his birthday no less, and almost seven years after his spectacular flame-out in the playoffs as a phenom pitcher-- actually caused his manager Tony LaRussa to smile.
It's a cliche in baseball to say that you run everything out as a way of showing respect for the game, but when Rick the Stick cracked that homer, a night many of us will never forget, he had to sprint around the bases.
posted by CM @ 7:31 PM
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