Baseball’s Pastime: Pranking
by Scott Cacciola
The Wall Street Journal
August 9, 2011
How Ballplayers Use Practical Jokes to Police the Clubhouse; Mr. Laird, You’re Under Arrest
Late in Thursday’s game against the Toronto Blue Jays, Tampa Bay Rays second baseman Elliot Johnson sought to put his spin on one of baseball’s time-honored traditions. It had nothing to do with throwing around the horn or stretching in the seventh inning.
Instead, he rimmed the bottom of a paper cup with a big wad of bubble gum and set about affixing it to the top of third-base coach Tom Foley’s helmet””which happened to be sitting on Foley’s head.
Unfortunately, the cup came tumbling off, ruining the gag. But Foley understood the value of a good clubhouse prank, dating to his own playing days, and thus felt obligated to do his part. So he reattached the cup to his helmet, voluntarily becoming the butt of the joke. The scene was broadcast on television, and Foley said he got a text from his daughter: “You look like an idiot.”
Baseball pranks are a tradition nearly as old as the game itself. They run the gamut from innocent to extreme, a usually unseen facet of baseball that remains an essential thread in the sport’s fabric. “Listen, the game’s predicated on failure,” Milwaukee Brewers third baseman Casey McGehee said. “If you can’t laugh at yourself and enjoy yourself with teammates, it can be a long season.” Continue reading “Baseball Pranks”