Jose Tabata 24?
by Pelferized on Feb 7, 2010 3:01 PM EST
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His birth certificate and passport say outfielder Jose Tabata was born Aug. 12, 1988, in Anzoategui, Venezuela. Yet, during a recent radio interview, general manager Neal Huntington admitted there are "a lot of rumblings" that Tabata might actually be in his mid-20s.
In Latin America, record-keeping can be spotty, especially when it comes to youngsters with excellent baseball skills. The New York Yankees investigated Tabata's background in 2005 and, satisfied he truly was 16, signed him as an undrafted free agent.
The Pirates are not publicly disputing Tabata's age, and yet ...
"All of the documentation he has used to obtain his visa from the U.S. government and his passport from the Venezuelan government indicates his reported age is accurate," Huntington said in an e-mail to the Tribune-Review. "Apart from unfounded speculation, there is nothing to indicate his age any different than reported. My point is that while we have reason to doubt his reported age, it is a non-issue to us."
http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/sports/pirates/s_666005.html?feed=14
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Hey NYY, how about a REFUND??????
Fat man is no more,
Bursting on through Heaven's Door
Come on in, says Bill
I'd like to know the real ages of Deolis Guera and Miguel Angel Sano
as well
I have a hard time believing these two are 20 and 16 respectively….
Baseball America ranked the Minnesota Twins as the 7th best minor league Org. in Baseball !!!! - that is good news...
by SteveHoffmanSlowey on Feb 7, 2010 7:48 PM EST reply actions
Shocking
I am shocked.
I dont think he’s all that good of a prospect at any age, fwiw, and I never have.
+1
wasn’t his mom…errr wife…like 50
by IHateMitchMustain on Feb 8, 2010 12:22 AM EST up reply actions
I'm just glad
I’m not one who ever, ever bought in on the Tabata hype.
by gogotabata on Feb 7, 2010 9:52 PM EST reply actions 1 recs
lol
yeah sure you didn’t
Baseball America ranked the Minnesota Twins as the 7th best minor league Org. in Baseball !!!! - that is good news...
by SteveHoffmanSlowey on Feb 8, 2010 3:42 PM EST up reply actions
I'ma caricaturesque eeetalian
When I getta too rambunctious in the housa, me mama would so “you go gotta bata!”
I think the fact
that the front office is even acknowledging info like this means there is more to the “rumors” than them just being “rumors”
yeah fine, a little harsh.
As a tabata fantasy owner, i dont wanna hear stuff like this
Neil's a pretty smart guy, but this is kind of a dumb thing to say:
“Apart from unfounded speculation, there is nothing to indicate his age any different than reported. My point is that while we have reason to doubt his reported age, it is a non-issue to us.”
There’s no sound reason to doubt his age.
BUT
We do doubt it, we just don’t care.
Hah?
Fans are typically idiots.
by The Typical Idiot Fan on Feb 8, 2010 1:33 AM EST reply actions
I don't think it's that dumb of a thing to say
It’s just a dumb thing to say publicly.
This seems like a non-story though. Tabata’s a latin prospect, and nobody knows anything for sure with those guys.
by OldDutchPots on Feb 8, 2010 11:08 AM EST up reply actions
I think all he is saying is “while there is no evidence that supports the claim, it is something we are concerned about. If it turns out to be true, it really doesn’t change anything. Tabata is a Pirate and continue to have high expectations for him.” What do you expect him to say? We are looking into filing a grievance against the Yankees? We are going to release him if this turns out to be true?
If Huntington were in a position to admit that Tabata’s older than reported (i.e., he knows for sure), wouldn’t he have to explicitly admit it? They’d have to put the correct age on Tabata’s visa, for example, right?
It seems to me like what Huntington’s saying is something like, “Well, you never know with these guys, so there’s always going to be skepticism, but as far as we know, he really is 21.” The “reason to doubt” is just a reference to the standard skepticism any shrewd person would have about a LA prospect.
Could be
Im reading it differently than that.
I think there would be many reasons he wouldnt be in a position/want to come out and reveal one of his prospects is older than previously reported. Consider how the player might feel.
I understand all the reasons why he wouldn’t want to. My question is, wouldn’t he have to, despite what he wants? For immigration/visa reasons, for instance? I’m legitimately asking.
not sure how you get that
He speaks “legalese” about no proof. This is CYA material. Then he explicitly states they have reason to doubt. So the GM thinks there is a good chance he is older.
And who cares about the visa documents. It isn’t hard for Tabata to have a different name and/or date of birth with fully legitimate documents that would stand up in court.
I’m not sure if you remember both Tejada and Vlad are a couple years older than listed. ESPN and every major site has their false ages. Even though eventually they were found out.
I wouldn’t be surprised about a single age coming from Latin America especially where the buscones are involved.
further
“DeMaro: How old is he really?
Huntington: He’s not 30, let’s put it that way. I mean, our records, and the people with the Yankees, indicate that his age was legitimate. There’s a lot of rumblings that he’s really older than what he is. If he’s 24, he’s still a young player with a great upside. In our minds, we don’t really care. We know we’ve got a good player that’s on the verge of the major leagues. It’s not like we’re talking about a guy that’s on the verge of being 30."
+1 again
His comments make it very, VERY clear they don’t believe he’s his reported age, that they have reason to believe his age is different than his reported age and that their comments about it not being an issue are because they think he’s still a good player anyway.
I really can’t believe anyone is reading this any other way. Makes no sense to me.
Those guys are from the DR
Venezuela is much less prone to this problem. It is certainly possible, however.
The only reason he mentions to doubt is “rumblings” or “rumors.” That is not news.
You guys are hilarious.
“Apart from unfounded speculation, there is nothing to indicate his age any different than reported.” – Neil Huntington, from the freaking article.
I’ll leave it at that. You guys can continue with your unfounded speculation if you wish.
IF true US will pull Visa
So I will believe it when it is confirmed.. I have concern about every latin player.
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