Skip navigation
Site powered by
Latest news:
msnbc.com: Top msnbc.com headlines: 9 die in Kosovo avalanche; child survives

Soriano is actually 28 years old, not 26

Rangers knew about discrepancy before trading A-Rod

Alfonso Soriano is 28 years old, not 26, and that didn’t come as a surprise to the Texas Rangers.

The Rangers knew Soriano was older than had been reported in the past when they acquired the two-time All-Star second baseman from the New York Yankees in the trade for American League MVP Alex Rodriguez this week.

“The Yankees were up front. Our people were fully aware of how old he was,” Rangers spokesman Gregg Elkin said Wednesday. “Without a question, that was the information we had.”

The Yankees’ 2003 media guide and other baseball information list Soriano’s birth date as Jan. 7, 1978. He was actually born two years earlier.

Soriano told Yankees officials about the age discrepancy last summer. General manager Brian Cashman told the New York Daily News that the change was going to be reflected in this year’s media guide before the trade.

In news releases this week confirming the trade of Rodriguez to the Yankees, Texas listed Soriano’s correct age of 28.

Elkin said Soriano’s birth date was initially listed wrong when he played in Japan. That information carried over when the Dominican-born infielder signed a contract with the New York Yankees.

Soriano got a multi-entrance visa to enter the United States from Japan after signing his Yankee contract. The type of visa he had didn’t come under the same scrutiny as others after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

When U.S. immigration officials reviewed visas after Sept. 11, it was discovered that several professional baseball players from outside the United States were actually older than listed on their records.

© 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

advertisement
More news
Milwaukee Brewers v St. Louis Cardinals - Game Four
NBC Sports
Who made the better move?

SportsTalk: Albert Pujols signs with the Angels and Prince Fielder joins the Tigers. Which team is better now?

Image: Detroit Tigers v Los Angeles Dodgers
Getty Images
DeMarco: Dodgers can become power

DeMarco: Plug in a well-heeled ownership group and negotiate one of those mega-bucks TV deals that are going around, and the Dodgers could become the west coast version of the New York Yankees or Boston Red Sox.

Interactive
Rangers Spring Baseball
Maps to spring training sites
Your guide to sites in Arizona, Florida
Slideshow
Houston Astros
  Unbreakable records in baseball
A look at the most unbreakable records in baseball including Nolan Ryan's seven no-hitters.
Slideshow
Image: Albert Pujols
  The top tools of baseball
You hear a lot about the tools of baseball, but who are the best hitters, fielders and pitchers? We break it down.

more photos