RetroSimba

(Updated Jan. 6, 2019)

Every club in the major leagues knew Rick Ankiel was a pitching prospect worthy of being taken early in the 1997 draft. Many, though, thought it would cost too much to sign him. The Cardinals decided to take a chance.

On June 3, 1997, the Cardinals selected Ankiel in the second round. Ankiel, who had indicated he wanted between $5 million and $10 million, signed two months later with the Cardinals for $2.5 million.

The move sent a clear signal Cardinals ownership, in its second year under a group headed by Bill DeWitt, was committed to investing in talent.

Prep sensation

Ankiel, a left-hander, was a standout pitcher at Port St. Lucie High School on Florida’s Treasure Coast. He had a three-year record of 30-4.

As a senior, Ankiel was 11-1 with an 0.41 ERA. He pitched three no-hitters and four one-hitters and struck out 162 batters in 74 innings.

“He went from being good his sophomore year to great his junior year and this year he became the best,” John Messina, baseball coach at Port St. Lucie High School, told the Palm Beach Post.

Said Marty Maier, Cardinals scouting director: “We think he’s the top left-handed high school pitcher in the draft.”

Ankiel also batted .359 with seven home runs and 27 RBI as a senior.

John DiPuglia, who scouted Ankiel for the Cardinals, told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, “In Florida, I’ve never seen a left-handed pitcher with his type of composure and stuff on the mound.”

In March 1997, Ankiel signed a letter of intent to attend the University of Miami. Ankiel and his adviser, Scott Boras, told major-league organizations it would take as much as $10 million, and no less than $5 million, to sign him, or else he would play college baseball for the Miami Hurricanes.

“A couple of teams said, ‘Will you take less than ($5 million)?’ and I told them no,” Ankiel said. “I was firm.”

Steal of a deal

No organization wanted to pay the price Ankiel was asking and few were willing to risk using a high draft choice on a player they might not be able to sign.

“He should have been drafted in the top 10,” said Cardinals general manager Walt Jocketty.

Deep into the second round, Ankiel still was undrafted.

When it was the Cardinals’ turn to make their second choice, with the 72nd overall pick, they took Ankiel, not knowing whether they could sign him.

“We thought long and hard about it,” Jocketty said. “We took our time … Bill DeWitt was there with us.”

Wrote the Post-Dispatch: “The Cards might have taken a risk in the second round, but possibly got the steal of the draft.”

Boras, a former Cardinals minor-league player, had warned Ankiel he might slip past the first round because of his financial demands. “It was something we talked about and we kind of knew in a way it was going to happen,” Ankiel said.

Sales pitch

Two weeks after the draft, Jocketty, Maier, vice president of player personnel Jerry Walker and player development director Mike Jorgensen met with Ankiel and his parents at their home in Fort Pierce, Fla.

Jocketty said they talked about how the Cardinals develop pitchers and informed them about the history and philosophy of the organization. He said they didn’t discuss money.

When contract discussions got under way with Boras, both sides played hardball. “At one point,” Jocketty said, “we were prepared to go the other way and he was prepared to go to school. It was a tough negotiation, but not any tougher than most.”

On Aug. 25, a month after his 18th birthday and three days before he was to enroll at Miami, Ankiel agreed to a deal with the Cardinals. He signed the contract on Aug. 28 in St. Louis.

Though the $2.5 million was much less than what he said he wanted, Ankiel received more money than infielder Adam Kennedy, the Cardinals’ first-round pick who signed two months earlier for about $1 million.

“We told (Ankiel) all along we would approach him like a first-round pick,” Jocketty said.

In recalling the signing in his book, “The Phenom,” Ankiel said, “The only job I’d ever had was helping a friend’s father tear up carpet and scrape floors. He’d pay me out of his pocket. I didn’t have a checking account. I didn’t have a savings account. Whatever money I had was in my wallet, maybe $50, but probably not. And then I was rich. I was really rich.”

High hopes

The Cardinals projected Ankiel to develop fast. “If he stays healthy and progresses like he should, he should move quickly through our organization,” Jocketty said to the Associated Press.

Said Ankiel: “I’m thinking I’ll make it to the big leagues in three years. My goal is to be here when I’m 21.”

Ankiel advanced ahead of schedule, making his Cardinals debut at age 20 in August 1999.

After achieving an 11-7 record with a 3.50 ERA and 194 strikeouts in 175 innings during the 2000 regular season, Ankiel had a meltdown in the postseason, losing his ability to throw strikes consistently.

He gave up pitching after the 2004 season, transformed into an outfielder and made his big-league comeback with the 2007 Cardinals.

Ankiel played in the majors for 11 seasons, four as a pitcher and seven as an outfielder. He posted a 13-10 pitching record and a .251 batting average with 49 home runs.