Sometimes, life throws you a curveball and you're not quite sure how to react to it.

Drafted by the St. Louis Cardinals in the second round of the 1997 draft, pitcher Rick Ankiel had one of the best young arms in Major League Baseball. Compared to the likes of Sandy Koufax, Ankiel made his debut with the Cardinals in 1999 and pitched his first full season in 2000.

Ankiel yielded a 3.50 ERA in his first big league season. However, in the 2000 playoffs things started to deteriorate for the lefty. In the 2000 National League Division Series against the Atlanta Braves, Ankiel pitched 2.2 innings and allowed four earned runs and walked six. In the next round against the New York Mets, Ankiel pitched just 1.1 innings and had an ERA of 20.25.

For those who remember, Ankiel couldn't even hit catcher Eli Marrero's glove. Ankiel's pitches would sail high and wide, hitting the backstop. Ankiel was removed from Game 2 against New York just 20 pitches into his start. That would be his final appearance in the postseason as a pitcher.

Injuries plagued Ankiel from 2001 to 2003, suffering from a left elbow sprain and Tommy John surgery. In 2004 Ankiel made a handful of relief appearances for the Cardinals, but called it quits after pitching just ten innings.

In 2005, Ankiel made a comeback as a position player. He spent 2005, 2006 and 2007 in three different minor league affiliates, learning the craft of playing in the outfield. He had supreme defensive skills and a very strong arm that supplemented his fine ability at the plate.

Then on August 9, 2007, Ankiel made his debut as a position player in the major leagues, and it wasn't with just any team.

It was with the St. Louis Cardinals. The fans in St. Louis welcomed Ankiel back with open arms. I was lucky enough to be there.

I was only 11 at the time, but as big of a Cardinals fan as I'll ever be. It was a weeknight, I remember, and I had a five-game ticket package for the entire season in 2007. I was lucky enough to have two tickets for that night's game.

Earlier that morning my dad saw on ESPN that Ankiel had been called up for the game that night against the San Diego Padres. My dad couldn't believe it, so he called the Busch Stadium ticket office to confirm the report, which they did.

So that night my dad and I headed downtown, more excited than any other night of an August game with a Cardinal team out of playoff contention. Our tickets were high in the nosebleeds, but we found empty seats about 20 rows behind the visiting team dugout. We were set.

Ankiel's first time up brought an extremely loud and boisterous standing ovation, but Ankiel popped out. After getting out again, Ankiel came up in the seventh inning. The Cardinals were down 2-0. Taguchi was the runner on third base and Christ Duncan was the runner on second. There was an anticipation in the crowd for the comeback kid to pull through. And man, did he do just that.

Ankiel smacked a home run into the right field bullpen and gave the Cardinals a 3-2 lead. The crowd went into hysteria, and there were even a few tears shed. Ankiel had pulled off the improbable.

This time, Ankiel knew exactly what to do with that curveball.