Who & What* traded for Prospects

* Classic Abbott & Costello routine

Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Kyle Kendrick was shocked to learn that he’d been traded to the Yomiuri Giants in Japan for a player named “Kobayashi.”

“I don’t know what to think right now,” he told reporters outside his locker shortly after getting the news from assistant general manager Ruben Amaro Jr.

Had he truly been thinking, he would have realized that such deals are prohibited by his contract. And with a little digging he could have found out that there is no Kobayashi playing in Japan, because he’s usually choking down hot dogs on the 4th of July.

The “trade” was, in fact, a prank, orchestrated by pitcher Brett Myers and was elaborate enough to include Amaro, manager Charlie Manuel, Kendrick’s agent, and even the media!