Ankiel drank before games
Ex-pitcher tried to quell anxiety
Former St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Rick Ankiel said he drank vodka before his first two starts in 2001 to quell anxiety after throwing five wild pitches in one inning during the previous season’s playoffs.
Ankiel detailed his experience during a radio interview Monday.
Ankiel had a promising rookie season as a 20year-old with the Cardinals in 2000, but he lost his control in the postseason. He pitched the first game of a National League Division Series against Atlanta and became the first major-leaguer with five wild pitches in one inning.
He said he was “scared to death” before his first start the next season against Randy Johnson and the Arizona Diamondbacks and turned to alcohol to suppress his nerves.
“I know I have no chance,” he said. “Feeling the pressure of all that, right before the game, I get a bottle of vodka. I just started drinking vodka. Lo and behold, it kind of tamed the monster, and I was able to do what I wanted.”
Ankiel pitched five innings and got the win against Arizona.
“I’m sitting on the bench feeling crazy, I have to drink vodka to pitch through this,” he added. “It worked for that game. I had never drank before a game before. It was one of those things like the yips, the monster, the disease ... it didn’t fight fair, so I felt like I wasn’t going to fight fair either.”
Ankiel drank again before his next start against Houston. This time, “anxiety took over the alcohol,” and he walked five, hit a batter and threw a wild pitch. He said he didn’t drink before games after that.
Ankiel has co-written a book, “The Phenomenon: Pressure, the Yips and the Pitch that Changed My Life,” with Tim Brown, which is set for release April 18.
Rule changes eyed: Major League Baseball intends to give the players’ association the required one-year advance notice that would allow management to unilaterally change the strike zone, install pitch clocks and limit trips to the pitcher’s mound starting in 2018.
Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred made the announcement after union head Tony Clark said last weekend he did not foresee players agreeing to the proposed changes for 2017. Under baseball’s labor contract, management can alter playing rules only with agreement from the union — unless it gives one year notice. With the one year of notice, management can make changes on its own.
MLB has studied whether to restore the lower edge of the strike zone from just beneath the kneecap to its pre-1996 level — at the top of the kneecap. Management would like to install 20second pitch clocks in an attempt to speed the pace of play — they have been used at Class AAA and Class AA for the past two seasons.
Wieters to join Nationals: Four-time all-star catcher Matt Wieters and the Washington Nationals agreed in principle on a $10.5 million contract for 2017. He has a .256 career batting average with 117 homers and 437 RBI.