Hidden ball trick
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In the game of baseball, the hidden ball trick is a play in which the runner is deceived about the location of the ball, in an effort to have him tagged out.
Typically, the hidden ball trick is tried when the runner has beaten the throw to second base. There are a number of ways that this play can be executed:
- The second baseman mimes throwing the ball to the pitcher, or goes to the mound and appears to give the ball to the pitcher, but actually hides the ball on his person. When the runner takes his lead off second base, the second baseman tags him out.
- The second baseman, shortstop or other nearby fielder will pretend to drop the ball into the outfield for an apparent error (after hiding it on himself). If executed correctly, the runner will begin running for third, setting up the easy out.
However, the hidden ball trick is illegal (and a balk is called) if the pitcher is standing on or astride the pitcher's rubber.
Third baseman Matt Williams used a different technique; on more than one occasion, he asked the runner to step off the bag so that Williams could sweep the dirt off of it, then tagged out the runner when the runner complied.
There have been fewer than 300 successful executions of the hidden ball trick in Major League Baseball. The last successful execution of the hidden ball trick was August 10, 2005, when third baseman Mike Lowell of the Florida Marlins caught Arizona Diamondback Luis Terrero, who represented the tying run, taking a lead off third base in the eighth inning, with Florida leading 6–5. Florida won the game, 10–5. The previous victim was Brian Schneider of the Montréal Expos, who was caught in 2004, also by Lowell.
A hidden ball putout is scored as an unassisted putout for the fielder making the play.
[edit] Hidden Ball Trick in Pop Culture
- The hidden ball trick is used, albeit highly illegally, in the 1993 movie Rookie of the Year.
- It is also used in the 2004 movie Mr 3000.
- In the movie "Little Big League", Bowers bluffed throwing to 1st, which Collins chased the ball. Ken Griffey Jr. ran to 2nd when Bowers threw to Corning (Kevin Elster) and tagged Griffey out.
