The Superman game

Imagine this.

A young Clark Kent, tired of hiding his super powers from the world, decides to play baseball for Smallville High. The team does well, naturally, and makes it all the way to the quarterfinals of the Kansas State High School Baseball Tournament.

Kent, a lefty, takes the hill for Smallville. He’ll face Wichita Prep, whose lineup is stacked with right-handed hitters.

In the first inning, Wichita’s leadoff batter swings through a wicked 12-to-6 curve for strike three. The second batsman strikes out chasing a slider away. And the third hitter can only watch as he’s rung up on a heater on the inside corner.

Kent strikes out the side again in the 2nd. And the 3rd. And again in the 4th. He has struck out the first 12 batters of the ballgame.

In the bottom of the 4th, Kent belts a fastball over the right field fence for a solo home run.

Kent strikes out the side again in the 5th, making it 15 batters faced, 15 strikeouts.

Smallville plates four runs in the bottom of the 5th, increasing their lead to 10-0, which triggers the mercy rule and ends the game.

All of this actually happened. Not in Kansas, but in Texas, in 2006. And not to Clark Kent, of course, but to another C.K.: Clayton Kershaw.