Perez

HAINES CITY, Fla. -- Royals shortstop Neifi Perez admitted Wednesday that he is two years older than he claimed to be.

Perez had listed his birthday as June 2, 1975. But in a morning meeting with general manager Allard Baird, Perez confessed he is two years older, making him 28.

Perez reported to Royals camp Tuesday night after leaving the Dominican Republic, where a discrepancy between his visa and birth certificate caused some difficulty.

Astros' Dotel: 28, not 26

HOUSTON -- Astros general manager Gerry Hunsicker has told KTRH Radio in Houston that right-hander reliever Octavio Dotel was born Nov. 25, 1973, not 1975 as he'd claimed. Dotel Hunsicker says Dotel's real age of 28 came to light when a discrepancy was found on the Dominican pitcher's U.S. visa. Dotel, who was originally signed by the New York Mets, told KTRH that he hopes the age difference doesn't matter to baseball officials and fans. He says he's the same pitcher, whether age 26 or 28. Dotel was 7-5 with a 2.66 ERA in 61 appearances last season. -- Associated Press

"Neifi said, 'I want to get it out and over with,"' Baird said in a news release posted on the team's Web site.

Perez sought out Baird to tell him the truth, Baird said.

Perez explained that as a youngster, he was told that giving a different age would help him get a professional baseball contract, Baird said.

"As far as the value of the player, we don't look at it any differently. I would be concerned if he were 30, 32 years old," Baird said. "It showed me a lot that he came to me."

Kansas City acquired Perez from Colorado last July as part of a three-way trade that sent Jermaine Dye from the Royals to Oakland.

Perez hit .241 with one homer and 12 runs batted in for Kansas City after batting .298 with seven homers and 47 RBI for the Rockies.

Several other Dominicans also have turned out to be older after a check of birth certificates, including Anaheim Angels pitcher Ramon Ortiz, who will be 29 next month instead of 26.

It was discovered Tuesday that at least one Colorado Rockies player, and maybe two, from the Dominican Republic are older than the Rockies believed them to be. Mario Encarnacion is believed to be 26, instead of 24, and Juan Uribe is 22, not 21. Encarnacion disputed the discrepancy.

Also this offseason, Cleveland Indians starter Bartolo Colon -- also a Dominican -- was discovered to be 27, not 26. He will turn 28 on May 24.

A Cleveland minor-leaguer, Martin Vargas, scheduled to pitch in the bullpen at Triple-A Buffalo, is believed to be 25 instead of 24.

Atlanta's Rafael Furcal, the National League Rookie of the Year in 2000, was found to be 23 instead of 21.

The errors were discovered when the players applied for work visas and were required to submit birth certificates to prove their ages. It's all part of heightened security following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.