Rick Ankiel strikes gold with his arm

I have been tracking this for 30 years, wondering about it for 40, waiting for the right guy to come along or, in this case, the left guy. And now it is here; granted, a subjective observation, but we believe that the best-throwing outfielder in the major leagues, for the first time in perhaps decades, is a left-handed thrower -- Nationals center fielder Rick Ankiel."He's amazing," Nationals pitcher Jason Marquis said. "I can't wait to see what happens every time the ball leaves his hand. As a pitcher, Washington Nationals Jerseys I watch him throw and I think, 'Why can't I have that arm and use it on the hill?' When a ball is hit to him in a throwing situation, our whole team rushes to the top step of the dugout to see what throw he'll make."I've maintained for years that almost every great-throwing outfielder of all time is right-handed: Roberto Clemente, Reggie Smith, Ellis Valentine, Dwight Evans, Jesse Barfield, Mark Whiten, Dave Parker, Dave Winfield, Carl Furillo, Willie Mays, Al Kaline and Ichiro, to name a few.
I have maintained that some years, and some eras, you can name 25 great-throwing outfielders before you get to a left-handed thrower."I can't remember too many left-handed-throwing outfielders with great arms," Kaline said. "How good was Babe Ruth?" He could really throw; maybe he was the best-throwing outfielder in the game in, say, 1920. Ken Griffey Jr., Claudell Washington, Mark Kotsay and Tony Gwynn could really throw, but they weren't as good as the best from the right side.Why is that? Is it as simple as the fact that there have been far more right-handed throwers in the game? Of the 429 active (or on the disabled list) non-pitchers in the major leagues, only 61 of them throw left-handed, or 14.2 percent. Of the 86 players who have started at least 15 games in the outfield this season, only 29 throw left-handed, or 33.7 percent.Or is it as simple as the idea that, in baseball history, when someone is left-handed and can really throw, he is routinely put on the pitcher's mound, as was the case with Ruth and Ankiel?Is there another factor? I once asked former Yankees outfielder Paul O'Neill.
He was a left-handed thrower and a very good one. O'Neill said, "Most great, right-handed-throwing outfielders throw straight over the top. With that motion, the ball goes straighter, truer and holds its line. Most left-handed-throwing outfielders throw closer to three-quarters: Left-handers have natural movement on their throws and a tailing action at the end. It doesn't hold its line as well. I thought I threw straight over the top. But when I looked at myself throw, I don't throw from straight over the top. mlb jerseys My arm angle had dropped."Kaline agreed. "Every great right-handed-throwing outfielder throws straight over the top," he said. "When you throw that way, the ball spins, it carries. When it hits the grass, it jumps, it picks up speed. You don't see left-handed throwers going straight over the top."You don't see as many great-throwing outfielders today from either side, in part because major league teams rarely if ever take infield, which means outfielders take very little time practicing throwing to the bases at game speed. And like many defensive statistics, it's hard to quantify outfield assists because the league leader doesn't always reflect the best outfield arm -- Gene Richards and Mickey Rivers, each left-handed, led their league in outfield assists in 1980 in part because they threw so poorly that runners routinely tested their arm.