The video of Jeff Francoeur being pranked by Cody Decker and the El Paso Chihuahuas has gone viral over the internet. So what exactly went down?
Decker, an El Paso infielder and catcher, decided to run with a prank that was thrown on Francoeur when he was told that pitcher Jose Reyes was deaf.
Jorge’s wife even went along with it,” says Decker. Jeff sat at dinner with Jorge, Jorge’s wife, for an hour. He was very quiet, signaling to us, his wife was playing along trying to answer every question as much as she could, I even told the waitress to go along with it.
In the video, members of the Chihuahuas, including the manager, Pat Murphy (AAA affiliate of the San Diego Padres) conduct interviews about the prank that was unfolding. Even Jeff Francoeur took part in the interview, although he thought it was for something completely different.
I told him it was Jorge’s anniversary as an appreciation video to all of his teammates. When Jeff left the room, I fell to the ground laughing. How he did it was exactly how I was hoping he would do it, says Decker.
screenshot provided Jessica Kleinschmidt/Youtube.com
Reyes put on an Oscar-worthy performance posing as “the deaf pitcher.” Such a stellar performance in fact, members of the Chihuahuas actually started to believe maybe was deaf.
To Frenchy’s credit, I’ve known Reyes since high school, and the illusion that has been created is so spot on that even I started thinking he might be deaf, says Rocky Gale, catcher.
The conclusion of the video is Francoeur watching the video and members of the team are letting out laughs.
He was blown away, he was impressed. He was amazed how far it went, adds Decker…He is the nicest guy in the world, a great sport. He (Jeff) said it was the greatest prank I’ve ever seen, and even bought us a steak dinner after and said it was the greatest prank he has ever seen pulled off.
I asked Decker if he has any more ideas for future videos being made. He said he was working on one during Spring Training, but couldn’t quite get the reaction he had hoped for, but is still holding on to the footage for the time being.
I like to sit around and let it happen, I can’t force the issue. We will see if the next one presents itself. I was really into doing this one. I did all of the footage during a rain out.
Here’s the video that Decker made:
Absolutely brilliant. Over 46 thousand views in 24 hours.
Photo: Kim Klement/USA TODAY Sports