PHILADELPHIA — Today is April Fool's, a day when the unwary can be victimized by pranks from friends and family.
Just in time for the unofficial holiday, Rotowire recently revisited some of the best April Fool's pranks in the history of sports.
And wouldn't you know it? The Philadelphia Phillies are at the top of the list.
Here's a recap of the legendary prank, engineered by former Phillies starting pitcher Brett Myers.
In 2008, one of Myers' cohorts in the starting rotation, Kyle Kendrick, was told that he was being traded to Japan -- except he was not.
"This prank is considered one of the greatest in sports history without question," Rotowire said. "(Brett) Myers was behind the prank and it was executed to perfection."
According to Rotowire's recap, Myers got several managers of the organization involved, including manager Charlie Manuel, general manager Pat Gillick, and even Kendrick's agent.
Manuel was tapped to "break the news" to Kendrick, telling the pitcher he was traded to Japan. Kendrick later told Myers he was traded, and Myers asked various questions while keeping a straight face.
Even the media was made aware of the "trade," Rotowire said.
Even years later, Myers told NBC Sports Philadelphia that the prank was his masterpiece.
"It's the greatest prank of all-time in the MLB," Myers told NBC Sports Philadelphia in 2017. "MLB Network ranked it the No. 1 prank of all-time. Now knowing me, I wanted everything covered. I went the extra mile to make sure that this looked as real as possible. I had to get the front office involved. I had to get Charlie (Manuel) involved. I let the media know about it -- keep them quiet. I had to get the traveling secretary involved. We had to make it look as good as possible.
"It took two weeks of planning to make sure everybody was on board before we pulled the prank off."
As it turned out, the prank may have been a good omen for Myers, Kendrick, and the rest of the team. The Phillies went on to capture their first World Series title in 28 years later that season.
To read the rest of Rotowire's Top 10 Sports pranks, go here.