Part of major league baseball’s seedier underbelly involves a bit of deception that doesn’t revolve around banned substances or illegal injections.
The problem of player’s lying about their age is an ever-increasing issue for teams looking to assess talent and dole out the appropriate signing bonuses.
Today we learn that a top Washington Nationals prospect known as a 19-year-old Esmailyn Gonzalez is really 23-year-old Carlos Alvarez Daniel Lugo.
The revelation of Gonzalez’s true age reduces his perceived value as a player. In 2008, his second season in the Gulf Coast (rookie) League, Gonzalez was named league MVP and won the league batting title, hitting .343. He was second in the league in on-base percentage (.431) and runs (42), and third in RBIs (33) and hits (62). One scout who has seen Gonzalez play, says, Those are great numbers, but you should be hitting that well if you’re that much older than your competition.
Busted…allegedly.
Nationals prospect falsified identity (SI)
