30 Years Later the Legend of Sidd Finch Continues

By Zac Vierra



Thirty years ago, the greatest Met who never existed first sparked national attention. Hayden Siddhartha “Sidd” Finch was introduced tothe public in 1985 thanks to a story written by George Plimpton for Sports Illustrated. Plimpton’s storydescribed how Finch, who had no prior baseball experience, learned to throw a168 mile-per-hour fastball in Tibet.

Today, in a world with Twitter and a seemingly endless newscycle, the ridiculous story would probably have quickly been revealed as ahoax. But in 1985 thanks to some beautifully staged photos, a terrificallycrafted story by Plimpton, and some help from the Mets, Finch’s story quicklybecame baseball’s version of The War of the Worlds with many fans and baseball people believing of Finch as the real deal.

The idea for the story first came from Mark Mulvoy, who was the managing editor of SI at the time, when he realized an upcoming issue would be dated on April 1st. He decided he wanted to do something April Fools’ themed for the magazine.

“I publish 500 stories a year. So much of what we do has to do with things like drugs, salaries and point-shaving, things we have to do. But for once, I wanted to have fun,” said Mulvoy in an Associated Press story from 1985.

Mulvoy’s first idea was to have Plimpton write an article about April Fools’ pranks in sports but when they could not find enough information, Plimpton was given permission to create a hoax.

Soon the legend of Sidd Finch was crafted by Plimpton in a 14-page story that included epic facts such as:

Finch wore only a hiker’s boot on his right foot while pitching



Finch was deciding between a career in baseball and one playing the French horn

Finch briefly attended Harvard University before dropping out to go to Tibet where he learned how to pitch thanks to yogic mastery of mind-body



Finch was discovered by Mets’ AAA manager by making soda bottles explode with his fastball



Mets prospects, including Lenny Dykstra, stood in during a closed off bullpen session as Finch fired his 168 mile-per-hour fastball

Mets catcher Ronn Reynolds’ hand was injured from Finch’s fastballs



Finch was given a locker next to Darryl Strawberry

“I’ve never had so much fun in my life writing another story,” Plimpton would later say.

Thanks to the team being in on the hoax, SI was able to send photographer Lane Stewart to Mets Spring Training in St. Petersburg, FL to make Finch come to life. Stewart then chose his friend Joe Berton, who at the time was an art teacher in Chicago, to pose as Finch.

“What really makes the story is the pictures,” Mulvoy said in the AP article.

In the week after the SI story Finch announced his “retirement” from baseball. It was later revealed that the entire story was a hoax.

Years later, the legend of Sidd Finch lived on. In a New York Times article marking the 20th anniversary of the story, Berton admitted that people still recognized him as Finch.

“It’s never old to him,” said Berton’s wife Gloria in the Times article. “Even now, at parties, people will go by and say, ‘Hey, you’re Sidd Finch!’ He’s just tickled, because he never was an athlete. He doesn’t deny the fact that he had heroes as a kid. And suddenly he was one himself.”

On Wednesday ESPN is releasing a 30 for 30 short on Sidd Finch, proving that although he was never real, the lanky pitcher is still on the minds of sports fans 30 years later.

Click Here to read the original story.

Watch the 30 for 30 short.