Pirates admit 'rumblings' about Tabata's age
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."
Even if Tabata should have three or four more candles on his birthday cake, he's still considered a top prospect. But how good he is, to a degree, does depend on his age.
Last year, Tabata played in 93 games — includuing 32 at Triple-A Indianapolis, where he hit .276 with three homers and 10 RBI.
A 21-year-old who's set to begin his first full season at Triple-A is considered precocious. But for a 24-year-old, it's considered a typical career path.
이런 얘기가 어디에서 나왔는지는 모르겠으나 최근에 타바타의 실제나이는 20살이 아닌 20대 중반이라는 소문이 있어 벅스팀내에서 자체 조사를 했었다고 합니다. 그리고 그 결과 지금껏 알아왔던 그의 생년월일(1988년 8월 12일생)이 맞다고 합니다.
일반적으로 남미선수들이 빅리그팀과 계약할때 한살이라도 어리면 그만큼 더 많은 계약금을 받을 수 있기때문에 이런 방법을 쓰곤 하는데, 일단 아니라고 하는군요.
사무국이나 구단자체적으로 조사하는 나이보다 더 정확하고 인증가능한 것이 미국정부라는군요.
왜냐하면 국가를 왕래하는 것이기때문에 그 어떤 기관보다 더 정확하게 조사를 해야만 비자가 발급될 수 있기때문이죠. 이것은 몇달전에 미네소타와 계약한 산노(Miguel Angel Sano)의 계약을 생각해보면 이해가 쉬울 겁니다.
