The Royals made it official Monday morning with the signing of former St. Louis Cardinals outfielder Rick Ankiel to a one-year deal. Rumors of the 30-year-old Ankiel’s signing with the Royals began late last week.

This isn’t a signing that will propel the Royals to the favorites in the American League Central. Heck, to many it might not even be an exciting deal. To me, though, this is a solid move.

Ankiel gives the Royals a solid defensive outfielder with a strong arm, and someone who can belt some homers. During the past three seasons, including 102 games in the minor leagues in 2007, Ankiel has hit 79 home runs. (He hit 32 in Memphis in 2007.)

He also gives the Royals a good guy in the clubhouse. And a great story. In June 2008, I sat down with Ankiel for the following article. This seems like a good time to re-run it.

***

Rick Ankiel has just returned to his locker in the St. Louis Cardinals clubhouse at Kauffman Stadium to put on his uniform for batting practice. As he slides on his number 24 jersey, there seems to be this boyish enthusiasm. He’s smiling to no one in particular.

But then you start to sense part of the reason for Ankiel’s joy because you remember his past and how nearly everyone had given up on him. Except the Cardinals. Except himself.

In the late 1990s, Ankiel was one of the top high school baseball players in the country. In fact, in 1997, “USA Today” selected him as the High School Player of the Year. Although he was a great all-around player, he had distinguished himself as a pitcher, striking out 162 batters in 74 innings during his senior season. (I’ve never been mistaken for David Hilbert but if my math is correct, that’s a little more than two batters per inning.) He also had an ERA of 0.47.

So, Ankiel was a pitching prospect.

“I was a good hitter but in my junior and senior year I was throwing the ball in the low-mid 90s,” Ankiel says, “so pitching became the faster track to the big leagues. No question about it.”

Faster than he might’ve imagined. In the 1997 draft, the Cardinals took Ankiel in the second round. Twenty-six months later, after embarrassing opposing hitters at every minor-league stop in the St. Louis system, Ankiel made his major-league debut.

During the rest of the season — all of two months — Ankiel was less than stellar with a 0-1 record, but he struck out 39 batters in his 33 innings worked.

In his first full major-league season, 2000, Ankiel turned into a solid, and at times, a fantastic major-league pitcher. At least that’s how it appeared. He struck out 194 batters in 175 innings. In 30 appearances, he won 11 games and posted a 3.50 ERA. Offensively, he hit two home runs and collected nine RBIs. He finished second in the National League Rookie of the Year voting.

During the playoffs that season against Atlanta, the world got a foreshadowing of Ankiel’s pitching career. In 2 2/3 innings against the Braves, Ankiel walked six batters, gave up four hits and four runs. Then, in two appearances against the New York Mets in the National League Championship Series, Ankiel walked five and gave up three runs on just one hit in 1 1/3 innings.

Things got worse the next spring. After starting the 2001 season on the big-league roster, the Cardinals sent Ankiel to Class-AAA Memphis. He lost his control and confidence.

They say the pitcher’s mound can be the loneliest place in the world. Everyone watching your every move. Your pace and ability to throw strikes helping determine the pace of the game. That’s especially true for a pitcher who’s struggling. Ankiel struggled mightily.

He failed to get out of the first inning in two of his three starts for Memphis. In a start against Nashville, Ankiel threw five wild pitches and walked six batters. In the first inning.

Shoot, Ebby Calvin “Nuke” LaLoosh was a control pitcher compared to Ankiel. Once Ankiel started struggling to find home plate, his catcher didn’t have to tell him to hit the bull mascot. Chances are, Ankiel already had. He also launched one or two on top of the backstop.

As if control problems weren’t enough, Ankiel continued suffering setbacks for the next few seasons. For three seasons he went through “Tommy John surgery,” rehab and more control issues. It would be enough to make most people believe that baseball wasn’t in the cards.

That thought floated through the back of Ankiel’s mind in spring training of 2005 when he announced he was retiring from pitching.

“I was ready at that point to move forward,” Ankiel says, “even with just another job. Once I made the decision (to retire), the outfield question came about. I thought I’d give it a shot. I always thought I could hit.”

So, Ankiel became an outfield prospect.

Even though he labored as a hitter in the minors early in the 2005 season while trying to learn the nuances of being a professional outfielder, Ankiel was determined to make it work. In 51 games at Class-A Quad Cities, Ankiel belted 11 home runs. When he made the jump to AA, he put together a seven-game hitting streak.

Of course, this story wouldn’t be complete without one more setback. In a spring training scrimmage, before the actual Grapefruit League schedule, Ankiel injured his knee and had to have season-ending surgery. By this time for Ankiel, it was simply another speed bump.

(In 2007), combining his stats from Memphis and St. Louis, Ankiel hit 43 home runs. So far in 2008, Ankiel has 15 homers, including one this past weekend against the Royals, and a .259 batting average. (Note: Ankiel ended the 2008 season with 25 home runs.)

He’s also become a dependable outfielder for St. Louis. Ankiel’s committed just four errors and has thrown out three runners.

“This (move to outfield) has absolutely worked out,” said Ankiel. “As a pitcher you’re always shagging in the outfield, so the toughest part is hitting and doing it consistently every day.”

As Ankiel’s story proves, baseball can be a funny game. Although his story is a rarity, it’s proof that you can go from being a laughingstock who’s throwing the ball on top of the backstop, to a player who looks like he’s a natural outfielder.

Frankly, it’s also one of the greatest stories of perseverance to be told and retold. Ankiel certainly doesn’t mind.

“No, no,” he says, with a long pause and a laugh between the two words, “I don’t get tired of talking about it.”

To contact Matt, suggest a topic for a “Behind the Stats” column, send an email to bts@sportsradiokc.com.