Clouding the process are unofficial agents known as “buscones” who promote and often house, feed and clothe players.
The revelation that a top Washington Nationals prospect from theDominican Republic falsified his identity and age has underscored thechallenges teams face in Latin America.
Experts on baseball in Latin America and officials from severalclubs said fraud is considerably less common than in the past, but manyplayers and members of their inner circles still are inclined to lie.It’s often seen in countries like the Dominican Republic that are rifewith poverty, corruption and poor record-keeping.
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Last year, Houston Astros shortstop Miguel Tejada, who was signed bythe Oakland A’s in 1993 as a teenager in the Dominican Republic,admitted to being two years older than he claimed. In 2002, the AtlantaBraves revealed shortstop Rafael Furcal was 23 instead of 21. CurrentSeattle Mariners third baseman Adrian Beltre has acknowledged heclaimed to be 16 when he was signed by the Los Angeles Dodgers; he wasactually 15 – which would have made him too young to sign.