C.J. Wilson, Mike Napoli Twitter Feud: Angels Pitcher Tweets Phone Number Of Rangers Catcher

OCTOBER 08: Mike Napoli #25 visits C.J. Wilson #36 of the Texas Rangers in Game One of the American League Championship Series.

Thanks to a poorly received Twitter prank, C.J. Wilson's first start against his old team just got a lot more interesting. Just a few months after leaving the Texas Rangers to sign a contract with Los Angeles Angels, the left-handed pitcher threw an unexpected curve ball at a former teammate on St. Patrick's Day.

In what he later described as a prank, Wilson tweeted the phone number of Rangers catcher Mike Napoli, . One of the first MLB players to embrace Twitter, Wilson (@str8edgeracer) has more than 116,000 followers. Not all of them appreciated the joke.

@str8edgeracer
C.J. Wilson

@Rangers_Danger it is a prank. You're familiar right? You can call Tmobile or Verizon and change it and still keep all your contacts

March 18, 2012 8:05 pm via Twitter for iPhone Reply Retweet Favorite

Miami Marlins outfielder Logan Morrison, another big league Twitter convert, retweeted Wilson's initial tweet, adding the hashtag #FAIL. Of course, by retweeting that first tweet, Morrison also shared the phone number of the Rangers' slugger with all of his followers as well. That brings the total of number of strangers who may have been able to give Napoli a call over the weekend to well over 200,000.

@str8edgeracer
C.J. Wilson

Okay I think we've all had a good time, I'm even with mike for saying he can't wait to hit homers off me.

March 18, 2012 6:23 am via Twitter for iPhone Reply Retweet Favorite

Although he insisted that this prank wasn't a big deal, the tweet no longer appears in Wilson's timeline. Offering a glimpse into his rationale for the prank, Wilson claimed that Napoli had been talking about hitting a few home runs off his former batterymate.

"I don't even remember saying I want to take him deep," Napoli told the Forth-Worth Star Telegram. "But as every power hitter, you're always trying to take pitchers deep. So I'll say it now, I'm going to try and take him deep."

Wilson and the Angels are scheduled to make their first trip to Arlington during the second weekend in May. Stay tuned to see if Napoli will enact his revenge. Or, if you follow Wilson or Morrison, you could perhaps just call Napoli to check.

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Comments

[lisaman]

02:07 PM on 03/23/2012

Not funny. I like a good joke as much as the next person but handing out someone's phone number on twitter is not even close to funny.

[JohnDewey]

02:05 PM on 03/21/2012

""I don't even remember saying I want to take him deep," Napoli told the Forth-Worth Star Telegram. "But as every power hitter, you're always trying to take pitchers deep. So I'll say it now, I'm going to try and take him deep.""

Professional sports - America's #1 source for unintentional homoerotic hilarity.

[Supersteel]

08:58 AM on 03/22/2012

That's a real stretch. I dont even think 95% of people's minds would even go there.

[JohnDewey]

06:19 PM on 03/22/2012

Kinda' humourless, aren't you?

[Solarluna]

04:06 PM on 03/20/2012

Yea, you can still keep all your contacts but your contacts can't contact you until you give them all the new number. That wasn't very funny, it was pretty mean.

[kurr]

02:54 PM on 03/20/2012

I always loved going to Ranger games when CJ was closer. We usually needed a 5-6 run lead when CJ came in or we'd probably lose.

CJ you are the only guy to lose the all-star game, ALDS, ALCS, & World Series game all in the same season.

[Longbaugh]

04:24 PM on 03/20/2012

YUP! I remember that as well. The Angels are in for a rude surprise now that Wilson got his fat contract.

[lisaman]

02:05 PM on 03/23/2012

Also, they got Albert Pujols and he hit into more dps last year than any other player, swear to goodness.

[esq1128]

02:17 PM on 03/20/2012

C J should concentrate on getting left handed hitters out instead of this dangerous prank by exposing this number to all the possible crazies in the world.

[mllandmpl]

12:40 PM on 03/20/2012

Like-------CJ is like, you know man, like cool man, you know, for sure

[njdavenj]

12:34 PM on 03/20/2012

Way back when during high school & college, and grad school day's too. Everyone used to talk about how dumb the (Sport's) Jock's were, each and every place I ever attended School's, A College & a University. It was always annoying to hear too many of the student's all over campus's talking about the genuine dumbness of Jock's. Even Professional Jock's.Like these two Baseball Player's. I'm as big a fan of comedy as the next guy. Though I am also mega turned off by stupid comedy movie's. Like the one entitled: "Dumb & Dumber".In Between all of this boring as anything studying. I managed to squeeze in two tour' with The US Marine Corp. We were too busy watching each other to make sure that we all had the best possible chance of returning home alive in one piece from The Viet Nam War. Talk about one colossal waste of money and human life!

[sisnses]

12:14 PM on 03/20/2012

Napoli is my favorite player :) Although I'm an Angels fan, I will always root for him whereever he goes.

[Rapper John J]

02:51 PM on 03/20/2012

Yeah, we let a good guy get away. Nice post!

[sisnses]

05:07 PM on 03/20/2012

Hoping for a great year!! Can't wait!!!

[Soican]

11:57 AM on 03/20/2012

Next Prank: the size of his junk

[WalterRetlaw]

11:57 AM on 03/20/2012

You'd think, based on these comments, that having to change your phone number is like having to recover from a debilitating, life-threatening injury, or something. Take it easy, guys. It's not a big deal. Napoli is rich enough to have someone else change his phone number for him, so really, it's not even something he's going to have to live down. Perhaps it's just me, but I'd much rather change my phone number than regrow my eyebrows, or walk around in public with a tonsure haircut, or something like that.

If anything, I'd say CJ was lazy. Pranks used to be a lot better before the digital age, back when people had to use their imaginations, and stage elaborate set-ups, and what not. There used to be an art to it, but now it's just type a few words, click a few buttons, and get flak from a handful of fans who weren't in on the joke to begin with. Lame.

[dwwill]

11:20 AM on 03/20/2012

Classless act CJ.

[wkluchki]

11:18 AM on 03/20/2012

C.J. Wilson is a stereotypical SoCal deucher. According to him he is the greatest thing since the invention of surf boards. We Ranger fans were all about good riddance when he left.

Napoli, on the other hand, is a straight up dude.

[vintagegirl11]

11:51 AM on 03/20/2012

I went to Fountain Valley High School with him. He was an arrogant db then. Nice to see some things never change.

[wkluchki]

05:17 PM on 03/20/2012

Thanks for the confirm. He bragged around here (in Texas) about how he was an expert with numbchuks and how he could land the team plane (a Boeing 737) if there were an emergency. And no end to the hundreds of books he has read and how big his HD tv is. Everyone around here loved to listen to his interviews with the local sports stations and laugh our arses off at him. I guess we'll miss him as one might miss a 4th Stooge.

[huntressconway]

11:01 AM on 03/20/2012

How is this called a prank? Where is the funny? I hope Napoli rips one right up the middle sending CJ to the ground, uninjured, of course, but getting the message loud and clear.

[Barbie423]

10:56 AM on 03/20/2012

Boys will be boys. . . .

[dontcalld]

10:51 AM on 03/20/2012

jocks are jerks