The Shortstop Who Didn't Exist

[@BaseballHistorian]

When you think about it, do any of us really exist?

[@lenin17301560]

I mean, if Baseball doesn't Exist, I guess shortstops don't exist either.

[@violentvowelz9920]

Wrong channel

[@michaeldavisnj88]

​@@violentvowelz9920 And mentally, I decided to stop following that KZbin channel anyway because of its exact name. It just feels to me with people following football more here in the US, they REALLY want to devalue a sport that used to be #1 but will not be giving up its #2 spot anytime soon.

[@JacobStewart-zq7gv]

@@violentvowelz9920bro the video is literally called “the shortstop who didn’t exist”

[@baconLord42069]

I was going to say this isn't the right channel for that joke

[@baconLord42069]

Brother is literally a channel called baseball doesn't exist and this ain't it

[@alexw0310]

Since this led to Mike Rizzo becoming GM, I think it's one of the best things ever to happen to the Nationals

[@bigglilwayne7050]

Imagine where they'd be had they went with Frank Rizzo instead...

[@mitchadorante9680]

This starts out like a wander Franco story

[@bryantsteury8910]

Miguel tejada “how old are you?” “Me?” Dead giveaway he was lying right there. Normal stalling tactic

[@johnjagemann6210]

At that point did it matter though. He was already a highly successful player teams still would’ve paid him. Pujols could’ve been 50 when he retired.

[@MikeyB540]

“Smiley Gonzalez” is the fakest name I have ever heard

[@alexw0310]

It was supposedly a nickname given to him because he liked to smile. Is that true? I have no idea

[@luisenriqueperezperez3193]

It was an actual real name as it was the name of his younger cousin, which he used the birth certificate from him. People just called him "Smiley" because it sounded very similar to "Esmailin" when pronounced.

[@yommish]

@@alexw0310 Well it sounds similar to Esmailyn so I get where the nickname came from

[@tigercap100]

I worked in Latin America. 1. Lying is so common. 2. They're really bad at it.

[@BiggestCorvid]

Makes me wonder if there are any more players doing what Wander Franco did while claiming to be much younger.

[@jb5nf]

Buscar = to find. Buscón = finder. Nothing sinister in the name.

[@Manuu-P]

It's sad to see these sort of stories, these kids have little to no education at all, the Buscones "dominican scouts" are just out to take advantage of them, when I used to play I saw how these kids lived, most of them even slept in the outsides of the baseball academies. I'm lucky enough that my family was not poor and I was able to get a good education, but this also made it impossible for me to even attempt to have a real baseball career, as a Buscon once told me "none will want you because you are educated and we wont be able to take advantage by giving you a bad contract". These kids are desperate to get out of the DR in search for their dream and a better life, and its sad that these sort of things happen and will continue to happen. It doesn't matter how good you are if by the time you are 16-18 you don't get discovered and exposed you either have to lie about your age or your dream is dead and you either become a Buscon or a very underpaid trainer here in DR.

[@CarharttCowboy]

Not the first player from the Dominican Republic to kie about their name and age. It's actually fairly common

[@teachersama]

There were rumors that Pujols did the same thing back in the day.

[@ryangreeney7413]

Buddy and i used to go to Spring Training every year in our 20s. Theoretically, I am 2 months older, and from the first moment I stood 3 feet from dude I knew he was older than me, and not by a little.

[@sm0keyd0key]

he 100% did

[@AisElliott]

Supposedly Albert and Octavio faced each other in Little League. Meaning Pujols is the same age as Dotel.

[@raylreyesf]

He was payed in full and the Nats tried to get their money back but the statue of limitations had expired and the money was already spent

[@Thehitta420]

I got the Hagerstown suns program with his picture in it with nationals top prospects from 2007

[@GameinHistory]

Imagine building your franchise around a 'can't-miss' prospect, only to find out he doesn't exist! The Smiley Gonzalez saga is one of MLB's wildest scandals fraud, FBI investigations, and careers ruined. It’s a crazy reminder of how murky international scouting can get.

[@carsonneal]

so many god damn bot comments for no reason

[@GameinHistory]

@@carsonneal Bot?

[@carsonneal]

@@GameinHistory Wtf why u talking like that as a real human being

[@GameinHistory]

​@@carsonneal Haha, I guess I'm just built different! Gotta keep it real for the story... 🤭

[@ripharambe4796]

widescreen lfg

[@RE1GN_BLOOD]

Then there’s Fausto Carmona

[@Thehitta420]

😂 I got his autograph on a baseball when he came back with the Rays

[@DemonKingBadger]

Aka, the other Roberto Hernandez. As a Royal fan, I believe I remember we had a reliever named Leo Nunez, who turned out to be Juan Oviedo, or Jose Oviedo, I would have to look it up, and don't have the wherewithal

[@DemonKingBadger]

I also seem to remember Julio Franco birth year went from 1958 to 1961 when he got older.

[@timphares3061]

Peter Angelos wanted to contract teh Expos so they couldn't move to DC.

[@timphares3061]

What's that word on Rijo's green shirt?

[@rudiscarrasco3320]

For everyone, it’s pronounce Bańi. There’s an accent on the n.

[@jb5nf]

accent is on the i

[@theonenonly2060]

i cant begin to explain how ridiculously common this is 💀 its not just DR, venezuela, mexico, every major latin country with a baseball interest does this

[@calebeisenhower5043]

Is it just me or does the age thing not really matter that much. Smiley put up great numbers at a professional level, albeit 4 years older, but let’s not act like every year you just magically gain baseball ability. Tejada had a great career although he lied about his age. It is not a good precedent to set but I don’t think it is as bad as some people make it out to be. These kids came from poverty and just want any chance to make it out

[@MetFanMac]

It matters in terms of teams knowing when your skills are likely to decline as you reach certain ages, and thus writing contracts (and planning out team construction) accordingly.

[@DemonKingBadger]

That and how long to give you a chance to develop. Age 20, still got time to develop, age 24 time is running out

[@adrianmcardle85]

Bobby Knight and Ivan Renko

[@DemonKingBadger]

Someone needs to do an Ivan Renko 2k my career series Maybe one day I will get back to playing OOTP, and create Sidd Finch and Esmailyn Gonzalez as my top prospects.😂

[@Parlimant_Strifey]

thankfully baseball also doesn't exist.

[@sodorflubbs5000]

How the hell can you buy a prospect that doesn’t exist? Lol

[@gedalyahreback2133]

So what you're telling me is that older players are actually still worth investing in and can still play major league baseball??? 😂

[@mg5347]

Do I exist?

[@skyliner6193]

No

[@KidFresh71]

Miss the Montreal Expos! I would move the A's to Salt Lake City, the Rays to Montreal and rebrand them back to the Expos, then award expansion franchises to Las Vegas (Vipers) and Nashville (Stars).

[@anandguruji83]

The Shortstop Who Didn't Exist

[@anandguruji83]

The Shortstop Who Didn't Exist

[@baconLord42069]

Does anything exsist even

[@jb5nf]

Age discrimination is still discrimination 😂

[@louisfriend6369]

The biggest lie is sports right now is that Juan Soto is 26.

[@snacksizedsalami1278]

That’s a wild thing to say

[@Matt-oq4jq]

Even if he were two years older, he still hits like Ted Williams, bro. He has old man hitting skills, he'll be rock solid until the day he retires.

[@ThatwasaSTRIKE]

If a team is going to give him $600+ million they would’ve already looked into it. There are also pictures and videos of him as a prospect from years ago and the age seems to add up imo.

[@nicholaso4302]

Why? I mean what evidence shows this besides he’s good at baseball?

[@Brax_beck]

Juan Soto is 2 years older than what he says too

[@Yombs.]

How about the guys that won MVP multiple times that’s also lied about his age no mention of Pujols how much they pay you to stay quiet??

[@ColinSteitz]

first

[@sethwick8348]

I'm not sure why this is a big deal. If you are good enough to put up those crazy numbers in the minor leagues, where it's not like you are purely competing with just kids, who cares if you are a few years older?

[@luisenriqueperezperez3193]

Simple: If you are putting elite numbers in Rookie ball but turns out you are 3 years older than all the 19 year old kids there, you immediately go from "Wow amazing" to "well that makes sense, lets send you to AA see if you can keep up there".

[@chrislane3228]

Yeah. Sorry, but it makes a difference. It cheats other players out of a job. Please... just think about it. The DR is a dirty place. This is a business worth billions. While I see your point, your point is beyond ridiculous. There is a reason why Haiti and DR are separated. The reason is that they both despise each other for bullshi* like this. I'm not on either side. It's just lying, stealing, and being dishonest for money. You know... like a whore.

[@yommish]

Because you’re expected to get better by the time you’re 23

[@sethwick8348]

@@luisenriqueperezperez3193 I guess I was assuming he was playing in AAA or AA. Quite a big difference in the various levels of the minors, and I assumed a high level prospect would go into the upper levels right off. Not sure if that was a good assumption.

[@NineteenEighty8]

Noone would notice because baseball is practically dead. Too boring and slow-paced for the newer generations. Too much standing around and pranking each other because there's nothing else to do. Baseball will be nearly obsolete one day.

[@nocturne311]

Weird attempt at trolling. Lol.

[@blakepettys28]

And yet you’re commenting on a baseball video

[@antonioreconquistador]

Yeah im sure in football and soccer and basketball where they stall to overofficiate and mill back and forth with little excitement, the broccoli haired generation is particularly interested in who got the red card or the personal foul

[@brettbono9550]

top prospects mostly do cocaine and meth to compete

[@jb5nf]

😂 you're high

[@pdp10034]

@@jb5nfI know a few people who played minor league ball and apparently cocaine is widely used in baseball, even by managers