Visa issues trip up clubs, prospects

It’s getting tougher and tougher for Dominican prospects to get visas to travel to the United States, according to Baseball America’s Ben Badler.

In the subscriber only story, Badler quotes Lou Melendez, MLB’s vice president of international baseball operations as follows:

"Previously if you confirmed an individual's identity but not his age, the Consulate was willing to issue him a visa under those circumstances. … But now the problem is that the Consulate requires confirmation of both of those things.”

These new higher standards should trip up some would-be age cheats; of course, part of MLB’s problem in the DR and throughout Latin America has been its difficulty in locating accurate proof of birth. To borrow Badler’s hypothetical, a Dominican boy may not apply for a birth certificate until his family realizes he has a chance to play pro ball; if that boy doesn’t get a birth certificate made out until he’s 13, is he ever going to be granted a visa to play American baseball?

According to Badler, the answer is yes; it just may take longer to get the visa. Perhaps that explains the reports of players detained in the DR this spring.

I've got a couple more thoughts to share on Badler's story, but they'll wait until this afternoon. In the meantime, Badler has done some excellent work on the DSL that you can read without a BA subscription, here and here.