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Youth movement Ankiel, Furcal leading candidates for NL Rookie honors
NEW YORK (AP) -- Until the playoffs, Rick Ankiel was just another candidate for National League Rookie of the Year. Then he became, not Wild Thing, but Wildest Thing. Sure, Ankiel was 11-7 with a 3.50 ERA and 194 strikeouts in 175 innings, helping St. Louis win the NL Central. That was overshadowed by his performance in the third inning of the Cardinals' postseason opener, when he became only the second pitcher in major league history to throw five wild pitches in an inning. He joined Bert Cunningham, who did it for Buffalo of the Players League on Sept. 15, 1890. "Something obviously was wrong," Ankiel said. "What do you do? Put it behind you and look forward to the next one." During the regular season, Ankiel threw 12 wild pitches. By the time the postseason was done, Ankiel had nine wild pitches and 11 walks in only four innings. "He's a young kid and he's tough as nails," Cardinals pitching coach Dave Duncan said after Ankiel threw two wild pitches in the NL Championship Series finale against the New York Mets. "He's going to be fine." During the regular season, the 21-year-old left-hander was impressive.
"He's probably the best-looking young pitcher in baseball, at least in our league," Gene Lamont said before he was fired as Pittsburgh's manager. "When he starts throwing that curveball and change across, they'll start talking about him like they did about Kerry Wood." Voting took place before the start of the playoffs, so Ankiel's wild postseason won't be a factor. But many voters focused on position players, and Atlanta shortstop Rafael Furcal figured to get a lot of attention. Furcal, who claims to be 19, but whose age has been disputed, hit .295 with 40 steals in 54 chances. He had just four homers and 37 RBIs, but walked 73 times, lifting his on-base percentage to .394. Had he spent the entire season in the major leagues, Philadelphia outfielder Pat Burrell might have turned into an overwhelming choice. He came up May 24 after six weeks in the minor leagues and batted .260 with 18 homers and 79 RBIs in 111 games. Mets center fielder Jay Payton also put up strong numbers, hitting .291 with 17 homers, 62 RBIs. But he was caught stealing on 11 of 16 chances.
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