The New Age Revolution

Jason Michael Barker

Before we get started, I promised the guys over at "Buy the Expos" that I'd mention their page. Basically, they're trying to put together an ownership group with the $100M needed to buy the Expos. I gave $100, and you can too. They won't be collecting until the pledges actually reach $100M, so you won't be out any money in the interim. Check it out.

Onward...

This just in: baseball players have been lying about their ages.

No big revelation, I know. In the past, it seemed there were two kinds players who lied about their ages: those such as Adrian Beltre and Wilson Betemit who lied about being a year or two older so they could sign professional contracts before they turned 16, and those from Cuba such as Orlando Hernandez who wanted to appear younger in order to appear better long-term risks.

Ask anyone who has followed the game for awhile and they'll tell you players lying about their ages is nothing new. In the past month, however, there have been a flood of players -- both major league veterans and younger minor leaguers -- who have been discovered to be a year or two older than was originally believed.

Rather than re-hash the story of stricter travel and immigration standards, or share amusing spring training quotes from players and managers -- "Oh, he's just maturing" or "Happy Birthday, twice" -- I decided it would be much more useful to take a look at some of the specific players who are older than we thought, and decide what impact, if any, the news has on their careers or their teams.

For a complete list of age changes, I invite you to visit this page over at Baseball America, which they're updating daily with both minor and major league players.

Bartolo Colon, Indians (was 26, now 28)
Two years for a pitcher in mid-career really isn't a big deal. If anything, this makes Colon's high workload early in his career look less important -- the 204 innings he threw in 1998 were now at age 25, not age 23. It's also good that the Indians found this out now, rather than when Colon was supposedly 30 (actually 32).

Jose Colon, Indians (was 24, now 27)
Yes, he's Bartolo's brother, and yes, those three years are a much bigger deal. The younger Colon pitched very well in relief last year at low-A Columbus. He was already old for the league at 23, so you can imagine how being 26 at the same league looks. If he was a prospect before, he certainly isn't now.

Deivi Cruz, Padres (was 26, now 29)
This one could have had major implications if the Padres were actually counting on Cruz to be their starting shortstop or had given him a big contract, but fortunately for them, they're not and they didn't. At 26, he could have reasonably been expected to pick up his hitting a bit, but at 29 that hope is all but gone.

Juan Cruz, Cubs (was 21, now 23)
Cruz is one of Chicago's top pitching prospects, having jumped from AA to the majors last season. The two years isn't nothing, but it's not a huge deal either. Even at 22 last season, he would have been a good age for AA and he pitched well there... if anything, this simply drops him from being a tremendous prospect to being a very good one.

Octavio Dotel, Astros (was 26. now 28)
As with Colon, this one isn't a big deal either. Dotel throws very hard and thrived in a bullpen role last season, fanning 145 in just 105 innings, and there's no reason to think these two years should change his outlook all that much.

Mario Encarnacion, Rockies (was 24, now 26)
When you're talking about a young prospect, those two years are a big difference. Encarnacion was already getting old for AAA last year and doesn't control the strikezone like he should, so his chances for a productive career have taken a pretty big hit. He could still put up big numbers in Colorado, but he's not going to be a star anywhere else.

Rafael Furcal, Braves (was 21, now 23)
This one was rumored a few years ago, when Furcal was supposedly tearing up the National League as a 19-year old rookie. The fact that he was actually doing it at 21 seems much more reasonable, of course, and at the same time he's still young enough to be a very good player. I'd be much more concerned about his injury and poor hitting last season than the two newfound years he added this winter.

Felix Heredia, Blue Jays (was 25, now 26)
Perhaps the least important age change on the list, with one exception you'll see later. Heredia is what he is -- a left-handed short reliever. This one year don't mean a thing (if it ain't got that swing). Sorry.

Rey Ordonez, Mets (was 29, now 31)
Does this get funnier all the time, or what? Back in the day, the Mets could at least claim that Ordonez was young, and might improve as a hitter. He's no longer young, and in fact he's even older than we were led to believe. All that said, this really isn't a big deal either -- Ordonez is a horrible, horrible hitter, and those two years aren't going to change that one way or the other.

Ramon Ortiz, Angels (was 25, was 28)
Ah, now here's one that makes quite a bit of difference. Ortiz is nicknamed "Baby Pedro" after Pedro Martinez, because the two are both hard-throwing, short right-handers from the Dominican Republic. It seems a bit silly now that we've learned Ortiz is, in fact, only two years younger than Martinez. Perhaps this nickname can be saved if Pedro is actually 35, but outside of that I'm not holding out much hope. In any event, Ortiz suddenly doesn't look so hot. His strikeout rate last season wasn't anything to write home about, and now we find out he's three years older? Not so good.

Antonio Perez, Mariners (was 20, now 21)
This one has been suspected ever since Perez tore up the California League supposedly at the age of 19. The fact that he's only one year older is something of a relief to Mariners fans (including myself), many of whom believed he might be two or even three years older. As it is, Perez is now two years behind -- the first because he missed all of last season with an injury and will start back at AA, the second because of the age discrepancy. He's still a solid prospect, but some of the shine is gone.

Neifi Perez, Royals (was 26, now 28)
Perez was already overrated, having never hit anywhere but Coors Field, and now he looks that much worse thanks to his new age. What are we to think? That a bad move the Royals made last season now looks even worse. If he gets off to a hot start, the Royals ought to package Perez for something shiny to make room for Angel Berroa... who if they're lucky, isn't really 29.

Odalis Perez, Dodgers (was 23, now 23)
This one is my favorite -- upon inspection of his birth certificate, it turns out Perez was a full six days older than originally believed. This one has such far-reaching consequences that I cannot even rationally discuss them in this space.

Luis Pineda, Reds (was 23, now 27)
Someone needs to give Pineda some sort of award, because so far he's the player with the greatest age discrepancy at four years. Four years?! If I'm the Reds, I'm filing a grievance after acquiring him from the Tigers this winter. At 23, the hard throwing Pineda was a prospect -- at 27 he's a suspect.

Juan Uribe, Rockies (was 21, now 22)
As with Perez, I'm sure Rockies fans are happy their shortstop prospect is only one year older than was originally believed. He still has good power for a middle infielder, and in that park he's going to put up some big numbers. The upside is still here -- Uribe is still a top prospect, even with the added year.

Keep in mind that these are just a handful of the players who have been found to have different ages, and it's quite likely we'll see more of these cases as the spring goes on. In fact, there could be a flood of them once minor league camps open and hundreds more players make their way into the United States, so be on the lookout.

about the author

After checking his birth certificate, we discoverd that Jason Michael Barker will turn 97 years old this year, not 24 as we were originally led to believe. Be sure to wish him a Happy Birthday, 73 times, at jmb@strikethree.com to make up for all those years he missed.