My brother sent me this great video, and, after watching it, I replied with a few amazing details I'm sure he, as only a casual fan, did not know:
http://www.wsbtv.com/sports/must-wat...yant/494858016
That was great!
Thanks. In case you did not get what was going on with the last few pitches, Maddux was actually telling him where the pitch would be, where on the bat he should hit it and where it would wind up.
Yes, he really can do that!
Over the years, he was mic'd up several times while watching other Braves' pitchers during games and would routinely let everyone know what would happen on particular pitches...his ability to do this amazed even Glavine and Smoltz.
While quite a few Major League pitchers regularly have their infielders and outfielders move to match what they are trying to get the batter to do, few did it with more success over their entire career than Maddux.
During this prank, there were at least a couple of pitches that Bryant thought he had hit the ball over the fence, but 'the sound guy' - without looking (judging only by the sound of the ball off the bat) - said, "No- warning track."
And all that is what made Greg Maddux so amazing - and here we are eight years after he threw his last pitch...and he can still do it.
FYI- Maddux has lived in Las Vegas for some time and Bryant, while, being born there and living there, said he had only met Maddux once or twice...which helped the prank work.