Vladimir Guerrero is considered one of the greatest athletes to ever emerge from the Dominican Republic. Now, however, he joins a group with much less distinction, but similar infamy -- players who have lied about how old they are in order to enhance their chance at being discovered by Major League Baseball clubs.Guerrero has always stated that he was born in 1976, which made him a 17-year-old when he was signed by the Montreal Expos in 1993. However, he recently let slip the truth about his age while speaking to the media about his offseason knee surgery.
Angels' coach Mike Scioscia initally stated that the surgery could "turn back the clock" on Guerrero's career. The slugger responded by saying telling reporters, "I feel good. I can't say [like] 25, because, you know, I'm 34. But I feel a lot better. That's where I'm at right now."
The only problem with that statement is that Guerrero wasn't 34, at least publicly. Members of the media picked up on the discrepancy and questioned the Angels about it.
And it turns out, Guerrero was actually born in 1975, meaning that he has always been a year older than anyone thought. This, apparently, has been known by the Angels, for some undetermined amount of time.
Of course this is somewhat disturbing, although not particularly shocking -- there are a slew of Dominican-born players who misrepresent their age in the hopes of aiding their prospect status. Additionally, there was only a one-year difference between Guerrero's real and fake age, which makes the transgression seem less offensive.
What it speaks to, though, is an obvious issue with international scouting. Not only are there major issues being raised regarding possible financial improprieties, but it seems to go hand in hand with regular age discrepancies among international talent.
It's an issue that can only be resolved with stricter guidelines, something hopefully forthcoming with all the recent scrutiny.
