For fans of professional baseball, hockey, basketball and football (in that order), few days are quite as exciting as the annual trade deadlines. If you were on Twitter at all July 31, for the Major League Baseball deadline, then you probably noticed a lot of talk about former Tampa Bay Rays pitcher David Price.
“A lot” may be a big understatement. Combing through the sea of David Price trade rumors was like wading waist-deep through a thick, muddy swamp.
I spent nearly two hours with my face glued to my phone, from the moment it was reported that Price was definitely moving until the three-team trade with the Detroit Tigers and Seattle Mariners was announced close to 4 p.m. As far as trade deadlines go, it was maybe the most exciting that the MLB has had in years.
And, it was mostly because of a bunch of fake Twitter accounts.
I’m sure a lot of you Rays fans were duped at least once or twice throughout the day, as all kinds of fake news reports gained traction.
Price and Ben Zobrist to the Tigers!
Zobrist to Pittsburgh for Starling Marte!
Price to Miami for Giancarlo Stanton!
Super hot-stove stuff, coming from what appeared to be legitimate sportswriters’ accounts— Ken Rosenthal, Bob Nightengale, you name it.
I posted about a Tampa-to-Cleveland trade with characters from the movie “Major League,” but I made it obvious that it was a joke.
Then again, as superstitious as the Rays have been lately, having Pedro Cerrano in the clubhouse wouldn’t be a surprise.
Sometimes, it’s tougher to tell who is fake and who isn’t. It’s even true of the big outlets— ESPN was duped by a Bob Nightengale impersonator, reporting live on television about a Zobrist-to-Pittsburgh trade that didn’t happen. (For the record, that account’s Twitter handle was “@Daily_Tunez”— which should have been a huge red flag.) Before that, one of its reporters was duped by a Joel Sherman impersonator with a fake Philadelphia/New York Yankees trade report. Even a few of my acquaintances from other papers in the Tampa Bay area bit on a convincing Rosenthal impersonator with a Price/Stanton trade.
This is very much a Twitter problem because of the nature of the beast: Unlike Facebook, Twitter is tailor-made for short, rapid-fire bursts of information— a great tool for breaking news before anybody else. As such, many people tend to get their news this way. No matter which side you’re on, it’s a blessing and a curse.
How can you tell who’s for real on Twitter, and who’s trolling everybody?
It’s not always obvious right away, but it’s definitely doable. Here’s how you can avoid taking the bait, whether it’s trade deadline day, draft day, free agency or whatever interests you in the sports world:
1. Know your sources. If you want to make sure you’re hearing from credible reporters, find their Twitter accounts before the big day(s), and follow them. Besides the Twitter handle, two tell-tale signs of the real deal are the blue Verified checkmark circle, which should move with the avatar when you swipe to see the bio, and the number of users in the “Following” box, which should be large.
2. Pay attention to your news feed. Let’s say you follow Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal), and a friend of yours retweets one of “his” posts about a big trade. First, look at the Tweet and scroll through your feed to see if Rosenthal really sent it. Then, click on the user associated with the Tweet and view their profile. Does their handle match? Do they have at least tens of thousands of followers (for a nationally-relevant reporter)? And, how many total Tweets have they sent?
3. If it’s a local reporter with no Verified mark, like Tim Graham of the Buffalo News, do a quick check of the publication’s website and find some of that writer’s stories. You don’t have to read anything in full, just make sure that this person does work at that publication and check his or her bio for a Twitter handle. Most, if not all, will publish it with their email address and other contact information.
Keep this information in mind and, the next time the Rays, Lightning or Buccaneers are making moves, you probably won’t be fooled.
As for the Price trade itself, I have just three thoughts. Detroit’s General Manager, Dave Dombrowski, is a baseball wizard that could probably have his own movie (like “Moneyball,” for Oakland’s Billy Beane) if he keeps this up. Seattle made out all right with young outfielder Austin Jackson, all things considered. Tampa got burned badly and, if not for the Tigers including top prospect Willy Adames, might have been better off letting Price walk at the end of the year.