
Topps prints card of fake starPosted: Tuesday April 1, 2008 5:53PM; Updated: Tuesday April 1, 2008 5:53PM
NEW YORK (AP) -- Got a Kazuo Uzuki baseball card? April Fools! Topps announced on Tuesday an April Fools joke it had been playing on baseball card collectors: Uzuki never really existed. The 2008 Topps Baseball Series 1, which was released on Feb. 6, included a card for a Japanese high school pitching phenom named Kazuo "The Uzi" Uzuki. As many collectors suspected, "The Uzi" was a fabrication. One clue: Kazuo Uzuki means "the first son of April" in Japanese. Although listed at only 5-foot-11 and 165 pounds (1.8 meters and 75 kilograms), "The Uzi" was said to be known for his devastating 104 mph (167 kph) fastball and was on his way to becoming the first Japan-based high-schooler to jump straight to professional baseball in America. "The Uzi" rookie card is limited to one out of every 72 packs of cards. Copyright 2008 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. | |||||||