Tales of Age Discrepancies Developing New Wrinkles

Wow! Bartolo Colon, Rafael Furcal and a bunch of major leaguers sure got old in a hurry.

The shortest off season in baseball history turned out to last a lot longer for Rey Ordonez and Enrique Wilson, too.

Neifi Perez and Ramon Ortiz? Both good players--just no longer some of the better young guys in the game.

An age-old question has become the No. 1 issue all over spring training. Every day, teams are learning a player or two is a little older than they thought.

“It’s the Danny Almonte domino effect,” Chicago Cubs Manager Don Baylor said. “It seems like that has happened a lot.”

Mostly, it’s occurring with players from the Dominican Republic, the product of closer scrutiny of birth certificates, passports and visa applications.

Don’t blame us, said Joan Dalmau, president of the Bronx league that produced Almonte. The pitcher’s team was forced to forfeit its third-place finish in the Little League World Series last summer after local Dominican officials confirmed he was 14 instead of 12.

“See, it’s not just us,” Dalmau said. “It can happen with major leaguers as well as Little Leaguers.

“It’s because of poor record-keeping. It’s not like here, where you just look in a computer and find out when someone was born. There, the boys go by what they’re told.”

The terrorist attacks on Sept. 11 also have had an impact. With tighter security in place for all people traveling to the United States, closer checks have revealed the age discrepancies.

“I don’t know if it’s the result of 9-11 or Danny Almonte or exactly why,” said Pat Courtney of the commissioner’s office.

The commissioner’s office sent out a memo to all teams in December, advising them to get players’ documents in order to avoid trouble. A branch of the commissioner’s office was set up in the Dominican in 2000 to help avoid possible problems.

Of course, baseball is filled with lore about mysterious ages.

No one ever really knew how old Satchel Paige was, and there were always questions about Fernando Valenzuela. Even now, does anyone believe Orlando “El Duque” Hernandez is just 32?

Atlanta’s ageless wonder, Julio Franco, is tired of talking about it. He’s listed at 40, and that’s how it’s going to stay.

“I told you guys last year I would let you ask questions about my age, but I won’t allow it this year,” Franco told reporters last week. “I’m not going to go through it again this year. Anyway, age is only a number.”

But the Braves now know Furcal, the 2000 NL Rookie of the Year, is really 23, rather than 21.

“He’s maturing,” manager Bobby Cox joked.

The Cleveland Indians at first through Colon was 27 instead of 26, then learned Friday he was 28.

“It’s no bid deal,” the star pitcher said of his sudden aging.

Indians general manager Mark Shapiro wasn’t troubled by the recent trend.

“A lot of times it’s not just players lying and saying they’re younger than they really are,” he said. “It’s not just us. It’s happening all over baseball.”

Perez reported to the Kansas City Royals’ camp and told general manager Allard Baird that he was actually 28 instead of 26. A contradiction was found in his birth certificate and visa.

“Neifi said, ‘I want to get it out and over with,’” Baird said.

“As far as the value of the player, we don’t look at it any differently. I would be concerned if he were 30, 32 years old,” Baird said.

Ortiz was thought to be 25. Instead, the Anaheim pitcher will celebrate his 29th birthday next month.

“He’s going to take a lot of ribbing from his teammates, that’s for sure,” Angels General Manager Bill Stoneman said.

The New York Mets and Yankees also were affected.

Ordonez had previously been listed at 29, but instead the Gold Glove shortstop is about to turn 31. Mets teammate Timo Perez is 26 instead of 24.

When Wilson reported to the Yankees on Thursday, the team learned the backup infielder was 28 and not 26.

“I don’t know how it happened,” he said. “I’m going to be the same player, and do the same things.”