Tejada admits to being two years older than Astros thought

[Lil Bit Special]

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=3351418

Age ain't nothing but a number, unless you're Miguel Tejada.

The Houston AstrosOakland Athletics when he was signed out of the Dominican Republic in 1993 that he was 17.

But he was actually 19, meaning he is now 33, two years older than his listed age in the Astros' media guide and other baseball records.

The shortstop was approached Tuesday by ESPN with evidence that he has lied about his identity throughout his career. E:60 correspondent Tom Farrey presented Tejada with a copy of a birth certificate, filed by his father in his hometown of Bani, that showed he was born on May 25, 1974.

The document was acquired by a Dominican law firm hired by ESPN after clerks at the town hall in Bani declared -- improperly -- that his records were confidential.

Tejada ended the interview when he was shown the information. E:60 plans to air its report on Tejada as part of its April 22 show (7 p.m. ET, ESPN). "I'm a poor kid that wanted to sign," Tejada told the Houston Chronicle about how he followed a coach's advice in shaving two years off his age. "I'm feeling free now. It's something that I had in my mind."

The Astros' media guide lists Tejada's birthday as May 25, 1976. However, in addition to the birth certificate produced by ESPN, the Chronicle reported that Tejada's green card, driver's license and other legal papers in the United States list his actual birthday as May 25, 1974.

"I was feeling like I had something to say in the last three days. That's why I waited for today to do it," he said. Tejada was signed out of the Dominican Republic by Juan Marichal, but he said that the Hall of Famer had nothing to do with the age change.

"The thing is I didn't want Houston to find out from somebody else," Tejada told the Chronicle. "I wanted to find out just from my face. I'm a man and I'm responsible for everything. That's why I prefer to come to them and say, 'You know what? That's the way it is and we're moving forward.'

Astros GM Ed Wade told the Chronicle that Tejada's real age came to light during a media interview. "Fact of the matter is that he plays like he's 25, so I don't think it really matters a whole lot," Wade told the newspaper. "We're still trying to figure out Jose Cruz Sr.'s age."

He's a man? He has lied for 14 years about his age and when presented with the facts, he now becomes a man and owns up to it? Give me a friggin break.

[Blackout]

what i want to know is how he got away with this never being noticed if it says his REAL age on his license?

[Zeebers]

I am sure he's one in many.