Featured player: Rick Ankiel
2001 Upper Deck Sweet Spot bat card - it goes without saying that nothing Ankiel will do as an outfielder will surpass what he was capable of doing as a stud pitching prospect coming up in the minor leagues a decade ago.

Hopefully the HGH concerns are in the past - far from being a curiosity, but still a project, Ankiel the position player has held his own. Despite seemingly being overmatched at times [57 strikeouts in 257 at-bats], he is providing some pop in the middle of the St. Louis Cardinals' lineup [.504 slugging percentage].

In a 8-7 Cardinals loss to the Detroit Tigers on Wednesday - Ankiel went 2-for-3, hitting two home runs, driving in three and scoring three runs.

Famous Baseball Feats

1.) Ed Sprague - the former Major Leaguer admitted to taking andro and once hit a home run with a corked bat. I remember I would collect cards of guys whom I thought would be good players. I don't know if I paid too much attention to him during his career, but I remember trading a Larry Walker card I got signed in the mail for either Sprague's autographed card or unsigned card in 1996. I also traded for his 1992 Upper Deck card because I thought he was going to be a decent player and also didn't realize he had a 1988 Topps Traded.

2.) Jordan Schafer - was given a 50-game suspension for HGH, even though there is no current test for it in the major or minor leagues. He was a breakout prospect in 2007 and looked to be a guy who was going to be the future in centerfield for the Atlanta Braves. I think one blurb I read compared him to Grady Sizemore, though looking at his stats, my guess would have been the guy who is in centerfield for the Braves right now, Mark Kotsay. Now, I think his status is up in the air. You wonder how some players inexplicably never make it or get bounced around. It might be a little too dramatic to say, but maybe this suspension will derail his career.