40 years ago in college baseball, Miami pulled off a phantom pickoff play, as Wichita State's Phil Stephenson was tagged out trying to advance to second base on a supposedly errant ball that was never thrown.
This was in the semifinals of the winner's bracket at the College World Series in Omaha, a second-round game in front of a sellout crowd of nearly 10,300 people, and millions more watching on ESPN.
In a 1982 College World Series game against Wichita State, eventual national champion Miami pulled off one of the most...
Posted by NCAA Baseball on Sunday, April 5, 2020
With Miami leading 4-3, Phil Stephenson drew a leadoff walk in the sixth inning for the Shockers. That's when the Hurricanes pulled off their well-rehearsed deceit.
The pitcher faked an errant pickoff throw to first base. The first baseman dived for the phantom baseball. The Miami players in the first base dugout yelled and reacted as if a baseball was loose down the right field line. Players in the Miami bullpen scattered as if a ball was rattling around.
Wichita State's first base coach was pitcher Bryan Oelkers; reacting to the mayhem, he urged Stephenson to head for second base.
However, the Miami pitcher still had the ball; he calmly tossed the it to the shortstop, who tagged Stephenson for the out. Miami would go on to win the game 4-3, sending the Shockers into the loser's bracket.
The play has since been dubbed the 'Grand Illusion', replayed on video highlights thousands of times during the past four decades.
