Under pressure from ESPN reporting last year, Houston Astros SS Miguel Tejada finally admitted he was two years older than what he had told MLB all along. That in turn persuaded Julio Franco to come out and admit he was really in his 50s when he played his last years of pro ball with Atlanta and New York. Vladimir Guerrero of the Angels wasn’t so moved by Tejada’s admission and ESPN’s investigation to come clean. Rather, Vlad blew his cover answering a question in an interview:
Guerrero’s admission – initially unintentional – came in response to a question about his offseason knee surgery. Manager Mike Scioscia had said the surgery could have the effect of “maybe turning back the clock a couple years” for Guerrero.
Relayed that quote, the affable Guerrero smiled and responded through a translator, “I feel good. I can’t say [like] 25, because, you know, I’m 34. But I feel a lot better. That’s where I’m at right now.”
See, I’m not so sure that Vlad blew his cover on that one. I think he thought his “Angels age” was 34 and that’s why he said it. If he were really telling the truth, he would have finally admitted that he was 40-years-old. Anyone who’s seen the guy lumber around in the outfield the past few seasons certainly has their suspicions. This also shines a whole new light on his 38 homer season with the Expos when he was supposedly 22. It makes a lot more sense now. And by the way, I’m so sick of these players lying about their age. They should be giving back some money to the clubs for taking it under false pretenses. The only thing worse is the Jim Bowden scandal.
