We found out last year that Miguel Tejada was lying about his age (among other things) and now we’ve found out this year that Vladimir Guerrero was lying about his age.

This is not two isolated incidents. Now Major League Baseball is investigating the birth certificates of over 40 MLB players to determine their real age. The investigation comes at the request of the U.S. consulate in the Dominican Republic, due to a change in State Department policy. Anyone lying about their age faces the possibility of having their visas revoked under the new policy.

Not just big name players are at risk, as there are minor leaguers that are not only lying about their age, but some of them about their actual identities.

It’s always been an unwritten and un-asked about reality in baseball that Latin American players are older than they say. From El Duque to Julio Franco to Fernando Valenzuela, there have always been rumors of players lying about their ages to appear more attractive to scouts.

The reason is, if you’re 23-years old and can’t hit a curveball, you’re useless. If you’re 17 and can’t hit a curve, but the rest of your abilities are solid, teams are willing to work with you for a few years. Being younger is always better in baseball, right up to the point that you are signing a contract in your 30s.

It will be interesting to see who comes clean about their age before the State Department does it for them. I’ll put the over/under at 8 1/2 players out of 42 are older than they say. Any takers?

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