Ankiel surprised the St. Louis Cardinals on Wednesday when he turned his back on a once-promising pitching career derailed by injuries and record wildness, saying he'll try to hit his way back to the major leagues as an outfielder.

JUPITER, Fla. (AP) — Rick Ankiel gave up on trying to resurrect his pitching career when the stress became too much to handle.

Ankiel surprised the St. Louis Cardinals on Wednesday when he turned his back on a once-promising pitching career derailed by injuries and record wildness, saying he'll try to hit his way back to the major leagues as an outfielder.

The 25-year-old Ankiel was scheduled to start a "B" game Wednesday that was rained out. He had yet to appear in a spring training game.