Pace Paw Print

Media Credit: ESPN.com Despite Ankiel's unbelievable comeback is it tainted?

Autumn, the season where leaves change color, the temperature cools down, when the baseball season is about to end, and the football season is just getting heated up. It also means the end of summer, and this year, it is the end of a summer oozing with controversy in the world of professional sports.

There was the Michael Vick dog fighting scandal bringing a once beloved National Football League (NFL) star to prison time and an indefinite suspension from the league.

There was also Tim Donaghy, the National Basketball Association (NBA) referee who gambled on games whether he was officiating them or not, who could now face up to 25 years in prison.

Adding to this controversial summer was Barry Bonds, the Major League Baseball (MLB) player who has played the game for 22 years and who now holds one of, if not the most hallowed record in sports, the all time home run record.

The one question that is consistently raised with Bonds holding this record is: did he use steroids to aid his career? It is one question that the American public may never have an answer to. Another frequently asked question regarding Bonds is: should his broken records have asterisks listed next to them, even though he has never tested positive for steroids?

When it looked like the sports world was at its lowest this summer, one story made everyone feel a little bit better. It was the story of Rick Ankiel.

The St. Louis Cardinals player first debuted in the major leagues as a pitcher in 1999. In 2000 Ankiel had his best year as a pitcher having 11 wins, 194 strikeouts with a 3.50 earned run average (ERA) in 175 innings pitched.

It all crashed down around Ankiel for te first time in the 2000 playoffs, where Ankiel pitched a total of four innings with a 15.75 ERA and an unimaginable nine wild pitches.

Since then Ankiel never recovered as a pitcher and got sent to the minor leagues in 2001.

Still in the minor leagues in 2003, Ankiel suffered an elbow injury that required Tommy John surgery (a career altering surgery for pitchers).

In 2005, Ankiel announced his retirement as a pitcher but wanted to maintain his baseball career as an outfielder.

Once again, injury would hold Ankiel back, as surgery on an injured left knee last year cause him to miss the 2006 season in its entirety.

Everything changed for Ankiel this year, as on Aug. 9 Ankiel made his stunning comeback as a hitter. In his first game back, Ankiel launched a three-run homer that gave the Cardinals a 5-0 win over the San Diego Padres.

That very weekend on Aug. 11 Ankiel had a phenomenal two home run game in a 6-1 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Ankiel's return could not have been at a more perfect time. While Bonds was breaking his questionable all time home run record, Ankiel, nicknamed "The Natural", was having an outstanding comeback which was seven years in the making.

Ankiel has been referred to as "The Feel Good Story," "The Comeback Kid," and even "The Anti-Barry Bonds" for his likeability with the media, unlike Bonds who has always clashed with the media.

While the comeback story of Ankiel was a bright light in sports this summer, that light started going dim for Ankiel on Sept. 6 when the Daily News learned Ankiel purchased a 12-month supply of human growth hormone (HGH), a performance enhancing drug from Signature Pharmacy in Orlando.

On that same day, Ankiel had a mind-blowing day on the field, hitting two long home runs which helped him get a remarkable seven runs batted in (RBI) for the game.

The day after that astonishing game Ankiel defended himself to the media by saying that any drugs he received were being used to recover from his elbow surgery back in 2004. Ankiel was also willing to help MLB in any way he could in terms of an investigation.

Even though HGH is a performance enhancing drug, it is not tested for in MLB even though it was banned in 2005. The reason it is not tested for is that a test for HGH requires a blood sample, while the MLB only uses urine samples for their drug testing.

With that said, a recent question being asked in MLB is: should HGH be tested for? Numerous baseball experts think that HGH needs to be tested for in order for MLB to escape the steroid era once and for all.

So where does this leave Ankiel? On Sept. 6, Ankiel had totaled nine home runs and 29 RBI in only 23 games. Since the HGH scandal broke Ankiel has only had one home run and seven RBI in 22 games.

Whether or not Ankiel took HGH illegally, the scandal has obviously distracted his play on the field. His story has now really left a bad taste in people's mouths and really doesn't feel so good anymore.

Article Tools