Rick Ankiel Considering MLB Comeback: 'I'm Not Afraid. I Might as Well Try.'

Rick Ankiel is 39 years old and hasn't appeared in a major league game since the 2013 season, but he is not closing the door on a comeback.

Ankiel revealed he is "toying with" the idea of pitching professionally again, per Tim Brown of Yahoo Sports. "I have nothing to lose," he added. "I'm not afraid. I might as well try."

Brown explained Ankiel publicly struggled with "anxiety pangs" and "yips" as a pitcher and ultimately gave it up at the professional level in 2005, choosing to move to the outfield. However, he has spent some of his retirement serving as a coach and mentor to those who deal with similar issues and showed himself enough to give it another try.

Ankiel pitched Wednesday in a tournament featuring a number of retired major leaguers, including Chipper Jones, Jake Peavy, Roy Oswalt and Johnny Damon, and competed at a high enough level to entertain the notion of a comeback.

"My kids have never seen me play, never seen me pitch," Ankiel said when explaining his mindset, pet Brown. "And I feel like I'm in a better place."

There was a time he appeared well on his way to a dominant pitching career in 2000 with the St. Louis Cardinals when he posted a 3.50 ERA, 1.30 WHIP and 194 strikeouts in 175 innings with a fastball and curveball combination that was deadly for hitters.

It is a testament to his will that even after his struggles, he played through the 2013 season for the Cardinals, Kansas City Royals, Atlanta Braves, Washington Nationals, Houston Astros and New York Mets. He hit .240 in his career and drilled 25 long balls in 2008 with the Cardinals.

Returning nearly 15 years after Ankiel last pitched in the major leagues is an incredibly tall task, but so was going from someone who couldn't find the strike zone on the mound to a source of power in the middle of St. Louis' lineup.