When Sandy Alderson traveled to the Dominican Republic in 2010 to investigate identity fraud for the commissioner’s office, he went armed with a message. Alderson had previously served as the chief executive of the San Diego Padres, and related his experiences.
“I had personally been burned on a number of occasions by identity fraud,” said Alderson, now the general manager of the Mets. “One has to ask if one is prepared to make the same investment again. If you get burned too often, you may decide to go elsewhere. I think that hit home with them.”
Since Ozzie Virgil made his debut for the New York Giants in 1956, the Dominican Republic, with a population of less than 10 million, has produced 542 major leaguers, according to Baseball-Reference.com. That figure includes 68 All-Stars, including Albert Pujols, David Ortiz, Jose Reyes and Robinson Cano. ...
The Indians placed [Fausto Carmona] on the restricted list Thursday, so they do not have to pay his $7 million salary or use a 40-man roster spot for him until he reports. Carmona is free on bail but cannot leave the country until his case is settled. ...
[T]he Miami Marlins’ reliever formerly known as Leo Nunez… stands to make $6 million this season, but like Carmona, he is on the restricted list and unable to leave the country.
Few in baseball were surprised that two well-established players had misrepresented themselves. The fear is that the problem could be much more widespread. One agent said more than a dozen players could soon lose their contracts because of age and identity issues.
“These are like time bombs,” Mark Newman, the Yankees’ senior vice president for baseball operations, said by telephone from the Dominican Republic while scouting there last week. “But people are absolutely getting the message. Major League Baseball, the consulate and the major league clubs are all committed to this, and it will get better.”
Reader Comments and Retorts
Go to end of page
Statements posted here are those of our readers and do not represent the BaseballThinkFactory. Names are provided by the poster and are not verified. We ask that posters follow our submission policy. Please report any inappropriate comments.
1. Dale Sams Posted: January 29, 2012 at 12:57 PM (#4048693)In a related story, Albert Pujols admits that he's 35, and that his real name is Arnold Pomerantz.
The idea that Dominican born MLB players are cheaper than American born MLB players is a myth, and the idea that MLB teams should just tolerate identity thieves and fraudsters without complaint is preposterous.
I don't know what the laws are in the Wild West show that the Dominican Republic seems to be, but here in America identity theft is considered a serious crime by most people.
I would actually be interested in seeing the data on this. (Total $$ expended on domestic scouting/signing) / (WAR of American-born players) vs. the same ratio for Dominicans, etc.
But what about identity purchase? Yeah, probably still considered serious by most of us here in the good ol' USA. But maybe that, rather than theft, is what is actually being tolerated in the Caribbean.
Since the Dominicans are being signed much younger (16-18 usually, vs. 18-22 for US/Canada/PR) we should expect those that make it to have been paid less in bonus, b/c a lot more guys get bonuses that fizzle out early on.
The earlier a player gets signed, the harder it is to determine eventual talent, and the more the money gets spread around a large pool of potential talent.
Is that 17 in man years or Dominican years or dog years?
Why? Isn't a 19 y.o. still going to be a lot more developed as a player than a 17 y.o.?
The 2-3 year gap doesn't start not mattering for prospectdom until the mid-20's.
I don't know if they're cheaper or not, but they're still cheap talent. Teams would be foolish to just close off the entire island. Identity theft is a serious crime, I just think MLB is issuing an empty threat, that's all.
You're welcome.
Wouldn't you have to sign thousands of kids to get one big leaguer? I can't believe scouting of 6 y.o.'s is very accurate.
You must be Registered and Logged In to post comments.
<< Back to main