Pitcher Tries A Very Sneaky Hidden-Ball Trick In CPBL All-Star Game

Journeyman pitcher Mitch Lively started and earned a win in the Chinese Professional Baseball League’s all-star game over the weekend, pitching two innings against the Taiwanese national team. More importantly, he started his second inning of work off with a rather impressive hidden-ball trick.

Lively deliberately showed his empty glove and hand, but it did not fool the hitter, who slapped it into left field. The befuddled umpire didn’t let the hit stand because of the delivery, and the Chinatrust Brothers all-star finished up his appearance without allowing a hit.

The concept was sound, though Lively should work on his execution and performance if he wants to pull it off in a high-leverage situation like these D-III softball geniuses. Later in the game, relief pitcher Chen Yu-Hsun also got into some mischief when he snapped and posted a photo while on the mound.

What a lovely picture.