February 21, 2005
What's In A Name?
Bob Baum tells the story of Ramon Pena, who used his nephew's name to appear 3 years younger when he signed with the Diamondbacks. It got him sent back to the Dominican Republic.
"I know that I made errors that could put my baseball career in jeopardy," Pena said in a statement at the time. "From my heart I want to ask forgiveness from all the people or entities who were offended by my actions."
He blamed his mistake on youth and inexperience, and added, "God teaches us to forgive, and everybody deserves a second chance."
The Diamondbacks, who were cleared of any wrongdoing, had no problem forgiving a 6-foot-2, 190-pound right-hander whose fastball reaches the high 90s.
"I know he's literally the player to be named later," Arizona manager Bob Melvin joked after watching Pena's first workout.
He had visa problems this year due to the deception and got to the Diamondbacks camp late. He's really twenty three, which is still young for a pitcher. Melvin likes what he sees so far.
"He's got a nice body for a pitcher. He hides the ball well. It explodes out of his hand," Melvin said. "Amongst the organization, you hear great things about this guy. That's why we've included him in that group that we're taking a hard look at for that fifth spot" in the rotation.
Posted by David Pinto at
03:11 PM
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