Alderson Rehired to Reform MLB’s Dominican Republic Office
ByFormer MLB vice president for baseball operations Sandy Alderson has been rehired by the commissioner’s office. He will assume responsibility to effect much-needed reforms on the league’s office in the Dominican Republic.
The Dominican Republic has produced the most players from outside the United States during the 2009 Opening Day rosters. However, the player-signing system in the country has been rife with instances of underage signings, identity fraud, use of performance-enhancing drugs, and skimming of money intended as bonus for prospects.
Executive background
A former baseball executive of the San Diego Padres and the Oakland Athletics, and with almost 25 years of travels to the Dominican Republic, Alderson was one of the key persons connected with the establishment of the MLB’s Dominican Republic office. He played a key role in developing the structure used in the process to investigate and identify the age and identity of players signed from the Latin American country.
Current situation and future plans
Alderson is expected to make a reorganization of the office’s current power structure, a move that will affect the current head of the Dominican office Ronaldo Perlata, as Alderson will be making new hires. This and other details of his reform agenda will be revealed in a news conference scheduled this Thursday in New York.
Last November, he presented a report on the possible solutions to the prevailing issues that have plagued the MLB office in the Dominican Republic during the owners meeting. With his appointment, it is expected that the suggestions he has outlined in his report will be implemented. In an interview with ESPN The Magazine during the winter meetings in December, Alderson mentioned that it would take a collective effort from different organizations other than the MLB such as the Dominican Republic government, the 30 clubs, the buscones (trainers/agents), and the US Government consulate, to realize his proposed solutions. He further noted that while he wasn’t surprised with the current situation, he found the steps taken by the investigative unit to prevent identity fraud a “pleasant surprise.”
Original and expanded functions of the Dominican Republic office
The Dominican Republic office was originally formed to serve as a resource for MLB teams with academies in Latin America. When age and identity fraud from these academies became rampant, the office was tagged to investigate players and certify the validity of the players’ identification papers. Many critics have pointed out that the office is not equipped to handle such responsibility.
It was only in 2008 and at the heels of the Mitchell report that the MLB established a department of investigations, which included assigning an exclusive investigator to handle the problems tagged in the Latin American country. As a result of the inquiries done by this investigative unit, the commissioner’s office suspended several top prospects in 2009.