Marcos Bretón: Tejada's lie is very understandable

SAN FRANCISCO – Miguel Tejada lied to me. He misrepresented his age, stood idly by while I repeated the untruth in a book about his life and the experiences of ballplayers from Latin America.

Now the real story is out, exposed by ESPN nine years after "Away Games" was published in 1999. Tejada's "lie" was a national story a few weeks ago, and ever since, the question has been:

Are you mad at Tejada for misleading you?

No way.

His wasn't a lie about weapons of mass destruction. It's very understandable why Tejada told the A's he was 17 back in 1993 when he was really 19.

So when I saw him on Monday for the first time since ESPN exposed him, Tejada smiled, I smiled and we embraced.

No hard feelings, nothing but love for a good and decent man whose life is a miracle of perseverance over poverty.

"I didn't lie about my age because I wanted to commit a crime in the United States," Tejada said on Monday. "I wanted to play baseball."

Tejada is from the Dominican Republic, which is baseball rich but one of the poorest nations in the Western Hemisphere.

Big-league teams avidly recruit in the D.R. because talent can be had cheaply. And in this market, there is a premium placed on youth. While American college players routinely sign big contracts at 22, Dominicans are tossed on the scrap heap by age 20.

Tejada was 19 in 1993. Nobody wanted him. So his friend and coach, Enrique Soto, a former A's scout, came up with the idea to shave two years off his age, Tejada said on Monday.

"Before the age of 19, I didn't have the physical ability to get anyone to notice me," Tejada said. "I was skinny. My dad's family was poor. It wasn't until I was 19 that I could hit the ball hard."

Even then, only the A's would take a chance on him – for the paltry sum of $2,000.

Think about that for a minute: This guy went on to be a league MVP, an All-Star MVP.

All for the initial loooow price of $2,000.

Who took advantage of whom in this scenario?

No matter. The story of Tejada's misstated age takes on greater ignorance when one considers he is being investigated by the FBI for potentially giving false statements to congressional investigators probing steroid use in baseball.

If Tejada is implicated by the feds, one wonders whether it would affect his immigration status or threaten his green card.

Tejada was mentioned in baseball's Mitchell report, the exhaustive in-house probe of steroids, for having allegedly received $1,500 in steroids from Adam Piatt – a former A's teammate and former River Cat.

Tejada won't be punished by baseball for this allegation, and it's unclear what the feds will do or how long the investigation will last.

Do I think my man did steroids? Uh, yeah. It's hard to look upon this generation of baseball stars and not suspect rampant steroid use among many name players.

Why should Tejada be any different?

It was the one issue he wouldn't address with me, saying his lawyers are "handling" the situation.

There still appears to be time to tell the truth, give the feds what they want and proceed with what could be a Hall of Fame career.

At 35, Tejada already has six 100-RBI seasons and is playing great in a tiny, hitter-friendly ballpark in Houston. Back home in his country, he has shared his wealth with many, supports his extended family and many friends with brand new homes and cars he bought for them.

He is still beloved in Oakland and is already a favorite in Houston.

"We've had great guys like Craig Biggio and Jeff Bagwell in Houston and Miguel is that type of guy," said Jimmy Stanton, director of media relations for the Astros. "He is a great ballplayer and a better person."

In a sense, Tejada's riches were all made possible by that initial lie about his age. Maybe he never gets off the island otherwise.

Consequently, the recent embarrassment over it seems a small price to pay for an exemplary life.

About the writer:

• Reach Marcos Bretón at (916) 321-1096. Watch him at 6:15 a.m. Wednesdays on News10. Listen to him at 7:40 a.m. Wednesdays on NewsTalk 1530 KFBK. Back columns, www.sacbee.com/breton.