SI

Video of Jacob Misiorowski Knocking an Apple Off Teammate's Head Isn't Real or A.I.

Viral clip from Milwaukee Brewers sparked a lot of questions online.
The Milwaukee Brewers did not, in fact, have two of their top young prospects perform this dangerous stunt.
The Milwaukee Brewers did not, in fact, have two of their top young prospects perform this dangerous stunt. | Milwaukee Brewers on X

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Jacob Misiorowski made his Major League Baseball debut for the Milwaukee Brewers amid much fanfare last June and proceeded to do things no one else in the history of the sport has done. The hard-throwing righty did not allow a single hit in his first 11 innings of work and announced his arrival with glove-thumping fastballs that reached 104 MPH. He was then added to the National League All-Star roster after five starts, the smallest body of work ever posted to earn such an honor.

So it wouldn't be entirely surprising if he continued to chart his own course by starring in a viral video where he actually used a real baseball to knock an apple off his teammate Cooper Pratt's head. Sure, it would have been an entirely unnecessary risk to life and limb for someone the Brewers are expecting big things for, but social views are very important.

The footage in question spread everywhere on Tuesday, immediately causing people to wonder if there was either a new William Tell in town or A.I. slop had gained an even deeper foothold in America's pastime.

As it turns out, the answer is none of the above. Per MLB.com's Adam McCalvy:

It was a trick of the trade from the video production team that includes senior manager of digital content Ezra Siegel, senior videographer and creative lead Carter Green and senior editor Cody Oasen, who have been playing around with ideas to reach young baseball fans.

The Brewers social team has come out of the gates swinging for the fences this spring as the apple thing was their second big win online in a matter of days. People flipped out for this video of outfielder Sam Frelick walking around as though he was the main character in a video game.

As for the apple video, one of the first clues that this might not be a legit stunt pulled out of Johnny Knoxville's playbook—in addition ot the fact an organization would not put a top prospect's parietal bone in harm's way of an electric fastball—is that Misiorowski, for all his success, was not a pure strike thrower in his rookie year. With 31 walks in 66 innings of work his BB/9 came in at 4.2, far higher than the MLB average of 3.2.

Sometimes you just need to think about things critically.


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Kyle Koster
KYLE KOSTER

Kyle Koster is an assistant managing editor at Sports Illustrated covering the intersection of sports and media. He was formerly the editor in chief of The Big Lead, where he worked from 2011 to '24. Koster also did turns at the Chicago Sun-Times, where he created the Sports Pros(e) blog, and at Woven Digital.

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