Some would say that the hidden ball trick is so obvious in baseball that nobody could possibly fall for it anymore, but a Houston Astros player did last night.
Max Stassi, only 22 years young and a catcher by trade, must have been sure he had made second base in the Astros’ meeting with the Texas Rangers last night, but once he wandered away from the base a few seconds later, he was tagged by Rangers’ Ian Kinsler, who Stassi hadn’t seen catching the ball in the first place.
To call it a hidden ball trick might be overselling it a bit as Kinsler didn’t actually make that much of an effort to conceal it, but Stassi should still have known better.
In fairness, it was his first game.
Hat-tip: Deadspin