The time Kruk, Bowa, and Ed Wade pranked Chase Utley

CLEARWATER, Fla. – Unless I somehow just hadn’t seen this, it’s difficult to believe this has been hidden in some unchecked closet of video clips in the offices at Citizens Bank Park or Comcast SportsNet for a dozen-plus years.

Perhaps it was buried in the rubble when Veterans Stadium was imploded. Surely it was in the Phillies 2003 Video Yearbook. Maybe we all just forgot.

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But, in the digital age, how hasn’t anyone seen this in years? Because it’s gold, perhaps more on all-around performances by the key players (John Kruk, Larry Bowa, Ed Wade, and Chase Utley) than the content itself. It's not quite on the level of Kyle Kendrick being traded to Japan, probably because Utley wasn't a very easy target. 

Here’s what happened: the Phillies tried to prank Chase Utley not long after he made his major league debut 14 years ago. The prank explanation itself doesn’t sound plausible – forfeiting a whole slew of games because of paperwork? - but again, it’s still worth watching because it’s kind of a Who’s Who of key players throughout different times in Phillies history. There’s even a Ruben Amaro Jr. dig!

H/T to Comcast SportsNet for digging this out.