April Fools’ Day — for practical jokers, it’s the greatest day of the year. For their victims, a total nightmare.
Here’s a look at some classic pranks from the world of sports:
Kyle Kendrick gets traded to Japan
Pitcher Kyle Kendrick, the Rockies’ opening day starter in 2015, was the victim of a , orchestrated by his Philadelphia teammate Brett Myers.
It was quite elaborate, gaining help from Phillies manager Charlie Manuel, the media and others.
Kendrick, then 23-year-old, was entering his second year in the majors when he was pulled into Manuel’s office. There he was told the team had traded him to the Yomiuri Giants of the Nippon Professional Baseball League for a player named Kobayashi Iwamura.
The young Philly pitcher sat silently with a perplexed “my-world-just-got-flipped-turned-upside-down” look on his face.
It gets better.
He stands in the locker room, holding a press conference with the media. “Do they have good food in Japan?” he asks the contingent before Myers chimes in with “You just got punked!”
Warriors center Festus Ezeli gets cut
Golden State center Festus Ezeli suffered a prank that was on the same vein as Kendrick. Teammate Andre Iguodala, with the help of Lyft, convinced Ezeli that he had been cut.
As Ezeli entered into a Lyft vehicle, a fake sports radio show comes on spouting that the Warriors forward was being cut.
“Two sources close to the Warriors say that backup center Festus Ezeli will be released from his contract before the playoffs,” the radio host says. “That’s it. No more Festus.”
Iguodala got his teammates to text him on the ride with messages. Klay Thompson texted “pleasure working with you.” Iguodala shows up later with a cake and balloons for the reveal.
Indians’ Corey Kluber gets showered with sunflower seeds
As Kluber is interviewed by Fox Sports on May 20, 2014 during a game against Detroit, his .
Kluber sits stoic, unwavered, much like his performance from the previous game where he pitched seven innings, striking out eight for a win. As the interview continues, his teammates drap a raincoat over him and start spraying him with water and baby powder.
The legend of Sidd Finch
Journalist George Plimpton was tasked to write .
Plimpton wrote “The Curious Case of Sidd Finch,” a Mets rookie pitcher who learned yoga in Tibet and threw a fastball that reached 168 mph.
Toronto raffles off Derek Bell’s jeep
During a fan appreciation day, Joe Carter and Dave Winfield pretended to . Bell’s reaction was priceless until he realized it was a lark.
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HAPPY BIRTHDAY
Former Nuggets guard Mark Jackson turns 51. It was a short run for Jackson in Denver as he played just 52 games before being traded back to Indiana. But he ended up leading the NBA in assists that season.
Joe Nguyen: jnguyen@denverpost.com or @joenguyen
