The Phillies pulled one of the greatest pranks in MLB history prior to the 2008 season, convincing their young pitcher that he'd been dealt to the Yomiuri Giants. Starting pitcher Brett Myers orchestrated the elaborate prank, getting manager Charlie Manuel, assistant general manager Ruben Amaro Jr., the local media, the team's traveling secretary, and even Kendrick's agent involved. "I went the extra mile to make sure that this looked as real as possible... It took two weeks of planning to make sure everybody was on board before we pulled the prank off." The day of the prank, Kendrick was pulled into Amaro’s office and given the news. The Phillies brass convinced Kendrick he'd been traded to Japan for Kobayashi. Now, who exactly is Kobayashi? Just a competitive hot dog eater. He was handed a copy of his $1.5 million contract. He was handed a copy of his itinerary. He was told to start packing his bags and get ready for an early wake-up call, as he needed to be at the airport two hours before his 7:05 a.m. flight to Japan the very next morning. He stood in front of his locker surrounded by a half-circle of in-on-the-joke baseball reporters, most of them doing a poor job of hiding their smiles, as Amaro announced the trade. Myers finally intervened during the "announcement" and told Kendrick he'd gotten got. For what it's worth, Kendrick wasn't pleased, especially with his agent being in on the prank. He would move on from his representative within the calendar year.
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