Ankiel and Braun

NEWSFLASH: Ben Nielsen hates the Cardinals.

Yes, I know, this is news to everyone, but it is true.

Actually, I don’t hate the Cardinals… I think I loath the Cardinals. No, no, no, I despise the Cardinals. Here are a list of words I associate with the Cardinals:

Abhor
Detest
Resent
Abominate
Rancor
Pique
Bitter
Spleen: ill-tempered, spitefulness (basically not the organ)
Malice

Basically, I hate the Cardinals so much I actually got a thesaurus and a dictionary out just to help find words that best describe my feelings towards St. Louis. I still have not found the correct word(s).

I say all of this just to set up this one point: Watching Rick Ankiel has been amazing. (And what is sad is that the two professed Cardinals fans in this league probably have ZERO idea how big of a deal this is. Well, maybe Tony does, but we certainly know Joel doesn’t. By the way, I just heard about this Francisco Liriano kid the other day while listening to a podcast. Apparently he was really good last season… who knew?)

I remember watching the meltdown on Ankiel in the 2000 playoffs. I remember laughing uncontrollably about how bad he had suddenly become and how totally out of nowhere this situation had come from. I mean the kid almost won the freaking Rookie of the Year Award (finished second to Rafael Furcal) and had a 3.50 ERA with 194 strikeouts in 175 innings. Oh yeah, and he was only 20-years-old! (Well, 21 after July 19...but still!) Then all of a sudden, he looks like he just forgot how to pitch. Take a look at his last three outings in the 2000 season and then look at his three playoff appearances:

2000 Regular Season
6.2 IP, 2 ER, 7 H, 0 BB, 11 K, Win
7 IP, 2 ER, 4 H, 2 BB, 8 K, Win
6 IP, 0 ER, 5 H, 2 BB, 8 K, Win

2000 Playoffs
NLDS: GS, 0-0, 2.3 IP, 4 H, 4 ER, 6 BB, 3 K, 13.50 ERA
NLCS: 2 G, GS, 1.1 IP, 1 H, 3 ER, 5 BB, 2 K, 20.25 ERA

Keep in mind that his last start of the season was September 27 and his first start in the playoffs was October 3. Five days off was all he needed to lose everything. It was shocking.

It takes some time before one begins to realize that Ankiel is a real person (even if he was a Cardinal). And, I think, just as everyone was coming to that realization, they noticed Ankiel was not getting his stuff back. His mind was gone. This cheesy YouTube clip was the best visual evidence I could find of his collapse:



Keep in mind that same guy you saw throwing the ball to the screen is the same guy who had a 194 strikeouts in 175 innings at the age of 20. The same guy who, with a 9.98 K/IP ratio, is number one in the history of baseball of a 20-year-old. Better than Bert Blyleven, Bob Feller, C.C. Sabathia and Dwight Gooden. Take a look at this:

Most Strikeouts at the Age of 20:

Name - Ks, IP
Dwight Gooden - 268, 276.2
Bob Feller - 246, 296.2
Bert Blyleven - 224, 278.1
Christy Mathewson - 221, 336
Rick Ankiel - 194, 175

So all of this stuff happens, he has to go back through the minor league system, learn a new position, learn how to hit, deal with the fact he was dangerously close to being too old to be in baseball (being 28 and in the minors is typically not a good thing. See: Angel Berroa). Basically, he had to re-do the minor leagues process (and it is HARD to do it once, let alone twice).

And then, Thursday, his first day back in the big leagues, this happens:



And then Saturday, this happens:



Roy Hobbs anyone?

(Quick Cardinal Bashing: The Home Run Call By the Cardinals Announcers. What an absolutely terrible job of calling the August 9 home run by the Gay Louis Cardinals announcing crew. I mean, honestly, silence would have been better than what clunked out of their mouths. A message to the color commentator guy: Shut up. Denny Mathews or Ryan Lefebvre would have nailed that. Bob Davis , whom I despise, would have nailed that call. Put it this way, the call is supposed to enhance the moment, to bring the situation to life. The call given by the GayL crew dampened the moment. Watching this video on mute gives me more chills than watching it with the call - and that is sad.)

***

Ryan Braun has been a fascination of sorts for me this week on baseball-reference.com. Here is some fun stuff I found about how amazing his first 69 games in the bigs has been.

Since 1901, only 22 men have produced a season in which they hit 20 or more home runs, had 55 RBI or more, batted .345 or higher and have stolen 10 or more bases. These men include:

Babe Ruth - 5 times, HOF
Larry Walker - 4 times, Played in Coors Field, Future HOF???
Rogers Hornsby - 2 times, HOF
Ken Williams - 2 times, Career .319 BA, 137 OPS+
Lou Gehrig - 2 times, HOF
Chuck Klein - 2 times, HOF
Mickey Mantle - 2 times, HOF
Jack Fournier - Career .313 BA, 142 OPS+
Babe Herman - .324 career BA, 140 OPS+
Freddie Lindstrom - HOF
Carl Reynolds - Career .302 BA
Lefty O’Doul - All-Star, .349 career BA, 143 OPS+
Tommy Holmes - All-Star, .302 career BA, 122 OPS+
Willie Mays - HOF
Tommy Davis - All-Star, injuries killed his career
George Brett - HOF
Cecil Cooper - All-Star, finished in top 5 of MVP voting three times
Jeff Bagwell - Future HOF
Alex Rodriguez - Future HOF
Nomar Garciaparra - Career .315 BA despite injuries
Derek Jeter - Future HOF
Darin Erstad - All-Star
Ryan Braun - Contingent on him finishing the season with a .345 batting average.

By my count, that is nine Hall of Famers, three future Hall of Famers, six guys who would be in the Hall of Fame if Major League Baseball had the same standards as the National Football League and two guys who we will never know about due to injury.

Now if you take those same standards, but then put in the requirement that one must have those numbers and be at or under the age of 25, this is what one would get:

Name (age)
Mantle - 2 times (24 and 25)
Ruth (25)
Hornsby (25)
Gehrig (24)
Lindstrom (24)
Davis (23)
Rodriguez (20!)
Garciaparra (25)
Jeter (25)
Braun (23) - If he finishes with a .345 BA

Here is another fun one - .340 BA, 20+ HR season at the age of 23:

Name - BA, HR
Al Simmons - .387, 24
Albert Pools - .359, 43
Ted Williams - .356, 36
Joe Medwick - .353, 23
Tommy Davis - .346, 27
Ryan Braun - .345, 21 (If he hits .340... Stats as of 8/10)
Willie Mays - .345, 41
Don Mattingly - .343, 23
Jeff Heath - .343, 21
Hal Trotsky - .343, 42
Hanley Ramirez - .342, 20

Another thing to consider is that the Brewers have two players on their roster who could be the 16th and 17th players EVER to hit 40+ home runs in a season at the age of 23:

Name - Current HR, Rank
Prince Fielder - 36, T18 (Stats as of 8/11)
Ryan Braun - 22, T108 (Stats as of 8/11)

Braun is a bit of a reach for 40 homers, but it is possible.

ANYWAY, let’s say Braun does hit 40 home runs and drives in 100-plus and hits .335. Look at the company he would be in for that kind of a season:

AT THE AGE OF 23

Albert Pools - .359, 43 HR, 124 RBI
Hal Trotsky - .343, 42 HR, 162
Willie Mays - .345, 41 HR, 110

Here is the point: Braun is good.