BASEBALL PLAYERS are notorious for the practical jokes they play on teammates.
During spring training in 2008, former Phillies pitcher Brett Myers famously orchestrated an elaborate ruse on young righthander Kyle Kendrick, convincing him he had been traded to the Yomiuri Giants of the Japanese League for a player named Kobayashi Iwamura.
The stunt, which required the cooperation of many members of the Phillies' staff, including manager Charlie Manuel, worked so well that Kendrick was virtually in tears before Myers giddily screamed Kendrick had "got punked."
Yesterday, after the Phillies ended a nine-game losing streak by beating Baltimore, 2-1, their locker room was much different than it typically is.