About Rick Ankiel
Richard Alexander Ankiel (; born July 19, 1979) is an American former professional baseball center fielder and pitcher. He spent most of his Major League Baseball (MLB) career with the St. Louis Cardinals, but also played for the Kansas City Royals, Atlanta Braves, Washington Nationals, Houston Astros, and New York Mets. Ankiel was a pitcher with the Cardinals from 1999 until 2001 when he found himself unable to throw strikes consistently. After trying to regain his pitching form in the minor leagues and briefly returning to the majors in 2004, he switched to the outfield in early 2005. For two and a half years, he honed his skills as a hitter and fielder in the Cardinals' minor-league system. He returned to the Cardinals on August 9, 2007. As a Cardinal until 2009, Ankiel hit 47 home runs as an outfielder and two as a pitcher. After the 2009 season, Ankiel became a free agent. Subsequently, he was signed by the Royals and later was traded to the Braves. Ankiel became the first player after Babe Ruth to win at least 10 games as a pitcher and also hit at least 70 home runs. Ankiel is also the only player other than Ruth and Shohei Ohtani to both start a postseason game as a pitcher and hit a home run in the postseason as a position player. Writing for Deadspin, journalist Barry Petchesky suggested that Ankiel's change of position, and the fact that he played for six teams in a five-season span, represented "one of the stranger careers in baseball history." He pitched his first full season in 2000 at the age of 20 (second youngest player in the league), posting an 11–7 record, a 3.50 ERA (tenth in the league), and 194 strikeouts (seventh in the league) in 30 games started. The Cardinals won the National League Central Division championship in 2000.
Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.