SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic — Major League Baseball is getting a new tool to verify the ages and identities of players from the Dominican Republic.
More than 10 per cent of the players in the majors are Dominican. There have been a few known cases in which players signed contracts after using fake documents that gave wrong names and ages.
The president of the Dominican Central Electoral Commission says league officials will now be able to access its national database of names and biometric data. Roberto Rosario says that should help reduce fraud among those aspiring to play professional baseball in the U.S.
Dominican authorities are also pledging to investigate and prosecute document fraud involving players as part of an agreement signed with league officials Thursday.
