Getting to First Base

April Fools…gold

While I don’t personally enjoy being pranked, I do love to watch as other people fall victim to a perfectly-executed gag. And I don’t mean someone jumping out from the shadows to scare their friend, or stink-bombing the hallway of their school*. What I like are the carefully crafted, thoughtfully executed, smart pranks.

*When I was in high school, a group of seniors actually did this, without thinking about the fact that they would actually be sitting in the now-smelly school the whole day. Dumbest senior prank ever.

The sporting world is a great place to pull off a classic gag. Take last year’s Philadelphia Phillies, for example. Pitcher Brett Myers orchestrated a prank involving everyone from his teammates, to Phillies manager Charlie Manuel, to then-assistant GM Ruben Amaro, and the local media! That whole gang convinced poor Kyle Kendrick that he had been traded, and hilarity ensued.

Sure, maybe it was a little cruel, but I admire Myers’ ability to coordinate that many people on that many levels.

But my favorite April 1 prank will never be replicated, because time has passed its brilliance by. On this date in 1985, Sports Illustrated ran a piece by George Plimpton about a pitching prospect named Sidd Finch, who could throw an astonishing 168 mph.

I’m glad the sporting world still appreciates the legend of Sidd Finch, because it will never happen again. People today  know too much about every player under the sun for someone who throws 168 to be unheard of.  If SI ran that article today, everyone would know better, because they would have heard about someone like that before.

Good thing Plimpton and SI got to the legend while it could still be such a great one.