Tejada two years older than listed

Houston Astros shortstop Miguel Tejada told the team he’s 33, two years older than he’s listed in the club’s media guide, after being shown a copy of his birth certificate by ESPN.

Saying he wanted to rid himself of a burden, Tejada approached General Manager Ed Wade and asked to correct misinformation he gave the Oakland Athletics when he signed in 1993.

“I was a poor kid,” Tejada said Thursday. “I wanted to sign a professional contract, and that was the only way to do it. I didn’t want or mean to do anything wrong. At the time, I was two years older than they thought.”

Tejada was 19 when he signed in poverty-stricken Bani, Dominican Republic. He says a local coach encouraged him to say he was 17.

ESPN said it showed Tejada a copy of his birth certificate from the Dominican Republic during an interview Tuesday. Tejada said at the start of the interview that he was born in 1976. After he was shown the birth certificate, he walked out, saying: “Right now I just play baseball, bro’. I just play baseball, and I don’t have to be here to talk about this.”

The former American League most valuable player was signed in the Dominican Republic by Hall of Famer Juan Marichal, but he was clear Marichal had no part in the deception. Moreover, Wade and Tejada said the shortstop’s green card, driver’s license and other legal papers in the United States reflect his actual birthday, May 25, 1974.

The Astros’ media guide lists his birthday as May 25, 1976.

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