We regrettably have no video evidence to prove it, but baseball pranks, gags and practical jokes have almost certainly been around as long as the game itself.
You can probably imagine a member of the 1881 Worcester Ruby Legs setting fire to the shoe of an unwitting teammate. Or a rookie on the 1909 New York Highlanders being humbled by the ol¡¯ three-man-lift trick.
Baseball players don¡¯t need a day set aside for tomfoolery; you can find them engaged in mischief almost daily at a clubhouse near you. But as we celebrate April Fools' Day, the holiday of hijinks, let¡¯s look back at some of the best baseball pranks.
10. Buck Showalter slows down Darren O¡¯Day
A key element of an effective prank is believability. And there are few who can pass as curmudgeonly as former big-league manager Buck Showalter.
But the former skipper of the Mets, Orioles, Diamondbacks and Yankees has a sense of humor, too, and he combined his contradictory characteristics to strike terror into pitcher Darren O¡¯Day, who was endorsing one of his favorite products with a ride on the field.
O¡¯Day did his best to defuse the situation and stay in the good graces of his manager before being let off the hook ¨C and kept on the roster ¨C with the revelation that it was all harmless fun.
9. Mike Pelfrey shocked by Gardenhire
Former MLB pitcher Mike Pelfrey is a high school baseball coach in his native Wichita, Kan., but in 2013, he hadn¡¯t yet mastered the art of the motivational speech.
So when Pelfrey, a Wichita State alum, was asked by Twins manager Ron Gardenhire to fire up the WSU basketball team during the Shockers¡¯ Final Four run, he was almost literally at a loss for words.
Gardenhire, who met his wife in Wichita in the 1970s, had some skin in the game, too, and he recruited other Twins players to play WSU basketballers over the phone. Pelfrey¡¯s painful ¡°go get 'em¡± address was mercifully ended when the scheme was revealed.
8. No place to hide
The hidden ball trick is a reminder that baseball truly is a kid¡¯s game. Pulling it off takes cunning and creativity, but falling victim to it can happen with only a momentary lapse in concentration.
The unofficial record holder for being tagged by the trick is former White Sox shortstop Ozzie Guillen, who got caught three times in his career.
Guillen didn¡¯t learn his lesson after the hidden ball trick got him twice in 1989. His former Chicago teammate Steve Lyons, perhaps recalling Guillen¡¯s inclination for inattention, made Guillen a three-time victim in 1991.
7. Foot on fire
Type ¡°Bert Blyleven pranks¡± into a Google search, and the first result is the Wikipedia entry for hot foot.
Blyleven isn¡¯t just known for his Hall of Fame career, 287 wins, 3,701 strikeouts and for being one of the first MLB players from the Netherlands. He was also dubbed the ¡°Frying Dutchman¡± because of his affinity for fire.
No shoe was safe with Blyleven around. He¡¯d light the laces of anyone within striking distance, ensuring that the hard-throwing right-hander's fireballs weren¡¯t exclusive to the pitcher¡¯s mound.
6. Kyle Kendrick traded to Japan
Kendrick, a Phillies right-handed pitcher, appeared to be mentally cycling through the five stages of grief after being told by manager Charlie Manuel that he was headed to the Yomiuri Giants in 2008.
Outwardly, though, Kendrick was all acceptance. He signed transaction papers without hesitation and held his tongue while general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. told media that the deal for ¡°Kobayashi Iwamura¡± was necessary to get Philadelphia to the next level.
As Kendrick took a sigh of relief after being told of the ruse, you could almost see denial, anger, bargaining and depression escape from his breath through the clubhouse air.
5. Greg Maddux fools Kris Bryant
What started as a simple batting practice session turned into the latest exhibition of Greg Maddux¡¯s wizardry, long after his 23-year MLB career was over.
Maddux mystified fellow Las Vegas legend Kris Bryant with an assortment of curveballs while posing as the sound man on a video shoot highlighting Bryant¡¯s exploits.
The four-time Cy Young winner had Bryant wondering just whose face was behind the disguise, and when it was revealed to be Maddux, Bryant was somehow both incredulous and not surprised.
4. The proposal prank
This one gets style points because it actually happened on April Fools' Day and featured one of the generation's best players, Mike Trout, as an accomplice.
The group of Angels in on the fun also included Jered Weaver, C.J. Cron and Kole Calhoun. The target was pitcher Garrett Richards, who was tabbed to help a man propose to his girlfriend and Richards' biggest fan. The problem was, his girlfriend was planning to break up with him.
Richards' assignment was to deliver the ring to the woman. But he ended up standing by as a "relationship" crumbled, forced to endure the awkwardness of an evening gone awry -- and a prank pulled to perfection.
3. John Kruk, rules expert
At the end of this gag, former Phillies slugger John Kruk said what we all were thinking: why would he be on MLB¡¯s rules committee?
Unsuspecting rookie Chase Utley didn¡¯t connect those dots, so he fell for the idea that the Phillies were forfeiting games in which he appeared because the club accidentally left him off the roster. And that his first MLB hit, a grand slam, didn't count.
Even with notorious jokester Kruk delivering the news, Utley was shell-shocked, only coming back to his senses when Kruk said what everybody else knew: he¡¯s more about the ruse than the rules.
2. For whom the Bell tolls
You can't mention Joe Carter without bringing up his Game 6, World Series-ending home run in Toronto's win over the Phillies in 1993. But if you were really paying attention to those early 1990s Blue Jays teams, you'd know Carter has another claim to fame.
It was this prank that sent rookie outfielder Derek Bell into an emotional tailspin. Bell watched as his money-green Jeep was driven around the Toronto turf by Carter and announced as a giveaway to a lucky fan.
If the Jeep had really been given away to someone in the crowd, that fan might have found himself in a confrontation for the keys. Luckily for Bell, he got to keep the keys and later pick up some additional hardware -- a 1992 World Series ring.
1. Hands off the head
We were never really sure if Elvis Andrus¡¯ insistence on touching Rangers teammate Adrian Beltre¡¯s had had nefarious intentions behind it. But there was never any doubt that Beltre wasn¡¯t in on the joke.
Beltre made no secret that his skull was not to be stroked. Andrus didn¡¯t particularly care, exposing Beltre¡¯s only apparent kryptonite throughout their time in Texas.
Beltre wasn¡¯t even safe in retirement. Andrus set off Beltre one more time at the Hall of Fame third baseman¡¯s retirement ceremony in 2019. Call it one more for the road.