https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Px_HL_J8lY
As anyone who saw Rookie of the Year can tell you, few things in baseball are more fun than a well-executed hidden ball trick. They’re especially fun when they look more like elaborate pranks than “one guy pulled a fast one on an unsuspecting baserunner.”
Take the video above, which is from the Illinois 2A state semifinals. Peru St. Bede pitcher Jarrett Olson attempted to pick off a Rockford Christian baserunner who was standing on second. Olson appeared to throw the ball past both middle infielders and into center field. Of course, as you can probably guess, this didn’t happen, and while the baserunner was confused, Olson made an athletic play to get the out. Peru St. Bede ended up losing the game, but at least they can take some consolation in knowing that this play was awesome.
In other hidden ball trick news, here’s another well-executed one performed by Ranier Ausmus, a third baseman for the Woodland Strykers of the Texas Collegiate League:
Ausmus performed this right at the beginning of the game, as this was the first out of the contest. While it’s not nearly as flashy as the one performed by Peru St. Bede, it had the same result.
(via Reddit, Bob’s Blitz)
