The Cleveland Indians may have found themselves a new starting shortstop -- one that can cover some ground pretty fast both on offense and defense but also has a plush interior.
As the Indians took the field for practice Thursday in Goodyear, Arizona, a BMW was parked at the No. 6 position in the infield dirt as a lighthearted lesson for starting shortstop Jose Ramirez.
The lesson: Stop parking wherever you want in the players' parking lot.
"I just saw his car parked a little far from the curve. It was a little awkward and there were a lot of spaces around," veteran infielder Mike Aviles told reporters. "We just figured we would park it somewhere a little more comfortable.
"Hey, he parks anywhere so you might as well park it in a comfortable spot. When you park it anywhere, what's the difference between the field and the parking lot?"
Aviles, who admitted to being just part of the covert operation that also included letting the coaches in on the joke, said the young infielder -- who has yet to play a full season in the majors -- was unaware of the prank until the Indians took the field for practice.
"Everybody was laughing," Aviles told reporters. "I went in and told the coaches what was going on. They were all out there for it. It was kind of funny."