One of the biggest media hoaxes in modern times was perpetrated on a baseballstarved country 25 years ago today. So the young players at the timepeople like lenny dykstra, even kevin mitchell. Midway through the book, dykstra is finessing things like employee payroll, but the ending chapters have him sliding into outright fraud buying cars with forged documents and, worse, crimes against women sexual coercion under assumed names on craigslist bottom of the barrel stuff. The season is remembered for a summer strike that cut the season in half. Plimpton wrote that finch had never played baseball, but through meditation and spiritual devotion developed a 168mph fastball lenny dykstra. In the months after, sidd finch tshirts were everywhere, the mets held a sidd finch day at the end of camp, a sidd finch themed restaurant opened in oakbrook, illinois and every sports fan had a sidd finch story.
This is the story of how hayden siddhartha finch, concocted by a legendary. Petersburg, fl get premium, high resolution news photos at getty images. Stewart asked berton if he wanted to be involved in the finch shoot. This hoax, however, is much more modern than that of tsang wong foo. Reddit gives you the best of the internet in one place. After sports illustrated ran the curious case of sidd finch in its april 1, 1985 issue, all of baseball was abuzz with curiosity. According to plimpton, finch was raised in an english.
With references to former mets pitching coach mel stottlemyre and former mets centerfielder lenny dykstra, many readers believed the article to be a true story, when in fact. Sidd finch was a fictional baseball player, the subject of the notorious article and sp. With lenny dykstra sidelined until early july at best, greenes heroics have easily drawn the loudest cheers from the hardtoplease home folks. Alas, the story was just an elaborate april fools day joke. The story of the sidd finch hoax is, like tsang wong foo, the story of a great baseball pitcher who didnt exist. George plimpton, the harvardeducated sports guru of the day who wrote such dazzling books as out of my league, paper lion, and the bogey man, introduced sidd to the world in an. Sidd finch was supposed to be the next great new york mets pitching phenom.
As of 2010, they were the longesttenured club to be based in the jackson metropolitan area. He had workouts with three of the mets, including lenny dykstra, and he worked with pitching coach mel stottlemyre. Lenny dykstra actually went to the cage and said how good finch was. The new york mets 1981 season was the 20th regular season for the mets. Well then, you better get down here, berton was told. Lenny dykstra was selected by the new york mets in the 12th round of the free agent draft on june 8, 1981. He wrote about the new york mets training camp and how three batters had been separated out from the group to face a new pitching prospect.
Impressively liberated from our opulent lifestyle, sidd s deciding about yogaand his future in baseball. And, credulitystraining as it seems now, plimptons fanciful 1985 classic for sports illustrated about the mets discovery of a geeky pitcher named sidd finch. The backstory on finch was as incredible as the blazing fastball. Sidd finch was a fictional baseball player, the subject of the notorious article and april fools day hoax the curious case of sidd finch written by george plimpton and first published in the april 1, 1985 issue of sports illustrated. The curious case of the curious case of sidd finch. Lenny dykstra airs his dirty laundry in new tellall book. Photographer lane stewart and the real sidd finch, joe berton, reminisce about how the story came together. Back in 1985, the new york mets felt they were on the verge of a dynasty. Sidd finch sidd being short for siddhartha, the indian mystic in hermann hesses book of the same name, according to the story, could pitch a baseball at 168 mph with pinpoint accuracy. The jackson mets were a professional baseball team based in jackson, mississippi, from 1975 through 1990. I was the hitter, never knew it was going to turn out to be so big.
In 1981, they drafted lenny dykstra, who would hit. The short and incredible career of sidd finch zen and now baseball. Dykstra did not agree to meet with the mitchell investigators to discuss the allegations. They went 4162 and finished in fifth place in the national league east.
Its considered, by some, as one of the best magazine articles of all time. Wendy, the waitress in the restaurant of the ritzcarlton is learning this firsthand as she tries to take his dinner order. The curious case of the curious case of sidd finch vulture. World heritage encyclopedia, the aggregation of the largest online encyclopedias available, and the most definitive collection ever assembled. Hubie brooks, mike fitzgerald, herm winningham, and floyd youmans were traded by the mets to the montreal expos for gary carter. Finch credited tibetan yoga as the foundation of his talent. Revisiting the legend of sidd finch call to the pen. Sidd finch the phenom was dead and sidd finch the phenomenon was born again. Plimpton eventually broadened his article into a novel, first published in 1987. Sidd finch project gutenberg selfpublishing ebooks. Lenny dykstra, a swift centerfielder who may be the mets leadoff man of. Yogi master, french horn player, and meditative possessor of the art of the pitch.
He urged listeners to request a book that did not exist. Finch desired privacy and so worked out at a remote area and did not stay in the team hotel. The curious case of sidd finch, by george plimpton we. Sidd finch was a fictional baseball player, the subject of the notorious article and april. The fastest previous recorded speed for a pitch was 103 mph. Tomfoolery and pranks from eastons past easton, ma patch. Lou thornton was drafted from the mets by the toronto blue jays in the rule 5 draft.
Sidd finch is a fictional baseball player, the subject of the notorious april fools day hoax article the curious case of sidd finch written by george plimpton and first published in the april 1, 1985, issue of sports illustrated. George plimptons 14page article on hayden siddhartha finch was, of course, one of the greatest april fools gags of all time. Perhaps the greatest april fools joke in sports history, george plimptons april 1, 1985, article in sports illustrated detailed the fascinating tale of an unknown mets pitching prospect named sidd finch. Sidd finch is a fictional baseball player, the subject of the notorious april fools day hoax. According to plimpton, finch was raised in an english orphanage, learned yoga in tibet, and could throw a fastball as fast as 168 miles per hour 270 kmh. Wed work with the young guys because theyd cooperate, berton recalled.
Hayden siddhartha sidd finch sidd finch was a fictional baseball player, the subject of the notorious article and april fools day hoax the curious case of sidd finch written by george plimpton and first published in the april 1, 1985 issue of sports illustrated. By the time sports illustrated ran george plimptons the curious case of sidd finch. For the most part, the fictional sidd had free rein. Prospects lenny dykstra, john christensen and dave cochrane were called. Albert camusthe plague the curious case of sidd finch, by george plimpton. He mentioned that the book of changes, the i ching. For their entire sixteen seasons of existence, they competed in the texas league as the class aa affiliate of the new york mets, until the club moved to williamsport, pennsylvania for the 1991 season. He mentioned that the book of changes, the 1 ching, suggests that all acts. New yort mets john christensen, lenny dykstra, dave cochrane in awe of fictional character hayden sidd finch during spring training. The fiery outfielder became know affectionately as nails due to his st. Plimptons story certainly was elaborate, but also funny. Instead, he became the character of a novel that plimpton wrote, expanding upon the article and delving. The book discussed finchs brief recommitment to baseball, in which. Trout met berton and plimpton at a university of chicago book signing and they.
Theres no such thing as a brief conversation with lenny dykstra. Lenny dykstra threatens to drop former mets teammate ron. The story was accompanied by photos of finch at spring training with lenny dykstra and mets pitching coach mel stottlemyre. The story was accompanied by photographs of finch, including one featuring a young lenny dykstra and another of finch talking with the. On april 1, 1985, sports illustrated printed a bio piece, written by george plimpton, about an unknown phenom sidd finch who was trying out for the mets and could throw a baseball 168 miles per hour, even though he wore only one shoe, a work boot, when he pitched. He mentioned that the book of changes, the 1 ching, suggests that all acts eventhrowing a baseball are connected with the highest spiritual. Finch had a gifted arm that greatly impressed the mets and so they were willing to work with his eccentricities. Lenny dykstra talks davey, mets, steroids and more in new book. Its about a phenomenal yet reclusive pitcher named sidd finch being courted by the new york mets. Nailed the improbable rise and spectacular fall of lenny. In ron darlings new book 108 stitches, darling accuses former new york mets teammate lenny dykstra of shouting foul, racist, hateful, hurtful stuff in the direction of boston red sox pitcher dennis boyd during the 1986 world series. The life and career of baseball great sidd finch george.
Rusty staub was signed as a free agent by the mets. When baseball met april fools day recommended reading journal sentinel book editor jim higgins highlights things worth reading, in print and online. How sidd finch became the ultimate april fools joke the athletic. Some of the mets guys figured, oh, hes just a friend of nelson doubleday. Photographer lane stewart and the real sidd finch joe berton. A memoir of life on the edge, former mets of lenny dykstra writes in depth about how he would do anything. Included in the story were photos of finch, in his mets uniform, one of him with mets players among them lenny dykstra, and another.
Lenny also played a role in the curious case of sidd finch, in which lenny dykstra is one of a few people the mets organization bring into a secret enclosure to stand in against the pitchers 168mph throws. In randall lanes book titled the zeroes dykstra admitted in his hotel room to lane, editor of trader monthly, that he used steroids to perform better than those he felt might replace him. He also led off game 3 of the world series with a hr, with the mets trailing the series 20. The curious case of sidd finch greatest pitching prospect of alltime 30 for 30 shorts unhittable. Former ny mets and phillies center fielder, world series champion. What sold it to the ballplayers is, they just looked at the pictures and said, geez, whats with this guy. Youd meet him and youd say, thats the guy who found sidd finch. When he got there, lenny dykstra was raving about this guys fastball and stewart saw captivated by what looked like a hole burned into catcher ronn reynoldss glove. He quoted the mets mel stottlemyre and lenny dykstra. Dave cochrane, a spare but muscular switchhitting third baseman. Dave cochrane, a spare but muscular switch hitting third baseman. An instant classic that sets a new standard to which prosports memoirs will forever be compared, house of nails, by former world champion, multimillionaire entrepreneur, and imprisoned felon lenny dykstra, spins a tragicomic tale of shakespearean proportionsa relentlessly entertaining american epic that careens between the heights and the abyss. They shot photographs at shea stadium which made it seem so authentic that the editors expanded it to 16 pages of an issue with an april 1, 1985, cover date. They had an exciting team, fueled by young stars such as darryl strawberry, dwight gooden, howard johnson, and sid fernandez.