As you may remember, Rick Ankiel broke into the Major League's as a pitcher with an exceptionally strong arm. Eventually Ankiel completely lost his control, went down to the Minor League's, and re-invented himself as an outfielder. But that doesn't mean that he still doesn't have the strong arm that was once his trademark.
On Monday night the Astros loaded the bases in the sixth inning against Steven Strasburg, and when Carlos Lee sent a ball deep to center, it looked like it was deep enough to score a run. But then Ankiel uncorked one of the best throws you will ever see form the outfield that held Jordan Schafer on third. Video is below the jump.
(h/t Steinberg)
Schafer is a pretty fast runner, and he might have been able to score on that play against any other center fielder in the Major Leagues. But Ankiel's throw as strong enough that it gave him pause, and that turned out to be a good decision considering it ended up hitting the catcher on target on the fly.
Outfield assists rarely make the highlight reel when they do produce an out. Ankiel just got the ball back into the infield without making any out, and it was still highlight worthy. That tells you what kind of throw he made.