Could Mark Prior pull a Rick Ankiel

[Griffey012]

Obviously he isnt going to pitch again, but i remember him as having a sharp bat when in the majors. I looked it up and he had 27 doubles his freshman year at Vandy, and batted in 28 runs while hitting .360. He didn't hit much at all once he went to USC.

I'm not advocating this move for the reds, but when I was watching the Mets vs Cards game (because the reds aren't on here) they were talking about Ankiel's move and I thought of it as a way for Prior to maybe recover something out of his career. Thoughts? Comments?

[David Cubbedge]

He would have to take roids like Ankiel has

[Griffey012]

He would have to take roids like Ankiel has

who says he never did?

[OldRed1966]

He would have to take roids like Ankiel has

And what makes you think Ainkel has done roids?

[OldRed1966]

Obviously he isnt going to pitch again, but i remember him as having a sharp bat when in the majors. I looked it up and he had 27 doubles his freshman year at Vandy, and batted in 28 runs while hitting .360. He didn't hit much at all once he went to USC.

I'm not advocating this move for the reds, but when I was watching the Mets vs Cards game (because the reds aren't on here) they were talking about Ankiel's move and I thought of it as a way for Prior to maybe recover something out of his career. Thoughts? Comments?

No. Prior wasn't even close to Ainkel when it came to hitting as a pitcher on the ML level.

[Orenda]

And what makes you think Ainkel has done roids?

Didn't he get linked with HGH? I think his story was that it was prescribed.

[levydl]

And what makes you think Ainkel has done roids?

He admitted doing HgH to Bud Selig. Somehow he went unpunished.

[Krawhitham]

And what makes you think Ainkel has done roids?

http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/ba...of_hgh_ne.html

[OldRed1966]

He admitted doing HgH to Bud Selig. Somehow he went unpunished.

http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/ba...of_hgh_ne.html

Thanks. I must have missed his name when the names came out.

[Griffey012]

No. Prior wasn't even close to Ainkel when it came to hitting as a pitcher on the ML level.

http://www.baseball-reference.com/p/priorma01.shtml

Prior hit .250 one season in 72 at bats and hit .230 another season, and hit .200 for his career. Ankiel was 18-88 or or .205 for his pitching career.

Ankiel was a better athlete, but for discussions sake it seem Prior could be a backup 1B/OF type down the road.

[gilpdawg]

HGH and Roids are two different things.

[levydl]

HGH and Roids are two different things.

Yes, but they're both performance enhancers, and when talking about baseball (and not medicine or science), roids is sort of used as a generic term for all PEDs.

[44Magnum]

Both are known to have used roids!

[JWP]

The difference between Ankiel and Prior is injuries. Whereas Ankiel has always been a pretty sturdy player, both as a pitcher and as an outfielder, Prior, obviously, is the complete opposite. Playing in the outfield is a lot less stressful on the shoulder and the elbow, but its not exactly stress free, either.

This is all assuming that Prior can hit at the Major League level, which I have my doubts about.

It might be worth a shot, but after all of his trips to the DL, I seriously doubt Prior's ability to handle the every day wear and tear of a baseball season, pitcher or not.