Fraud in Baseball - No, Not Steroids

It’s common that many major league prospects that come from Latin America have false birth certificates making them younger. More notably, in the case of the Hernandez brothers, (Livan and Orlando) who defected from Cuba and got signed by major league teams. Orlando got signed by the Yankees in 1998 with a certificate saying he was born in 1969, making him 29 years old. He signed a multi million dollar deal based on his potential and age. However, it was later revealed in a divorce filing in Cuba that his actual birthday was in 1965, which would make him 33 at the time of his signing. As many fans know, those 4 years is actually a very big deal when it comes to baseball. It’s the difference of a frivolous lifestyle making millions of dollars opposed to riding minor league buses from town to town. I am not trying to justify this practice, as it does deceive the team who signs the player. Claiming to be younger can hurt the team in the latter years of the contract, as an older player might break down and not produce the same results he once did.

But how about this, Lying about your age to get an advantage in Little League?! Well, unfortunately that was the case in 2000, when Danny Almonte said he was 2 years younger than he really was in order to play in the Little League World Series. Too no ones knowledge he was allowed to compete, and he completely dominated the competition, even throwing a perfect game. His fastball was clocked at 75 mph (equivalent to almost 95mph major league), the 12 year olds he faced did not stand a chance, as his team (Baby Bombers from the Bronx) went on to the championship game. As a result, he was seen as a hero in New York, even receiving the key to the city by then mayor Rudy Giuliani. However, the feel good story quickly came to an end, as an investigator from the Dominican Republic produced documents stating his real age was 14 at that time of competition. It was revealed that his coach and father were involved in the scamming. As a result, Almonte's whole team suffered and were stripped of their wins and erased from the books.

Personally, like many others I feel this is the lowest of all scams. Think for a second about who’s losing out. Innocent children who one day dream of being professional players are being cheated, why? Because two selfish adults decided that they wanted personal glory. At that age it should not be about winning and losing, but teaching the game's fundamentals and sportsmanship. Anyway, today I decided to a follow up on Almonte's career. Many excepted him to get picked in the 2006 MLB draft but wasn't. He currently plays for Southern Illinois Miners in an Independent minor league, as of June his record is 0-1 5.29 era. Too bad huh? he’s stuck in the minors with no real shot of making the big leagues. Note to future prospects: sometimes it’s not worth lying; the same could happen to you.