It was a story that seemed too good to be true, and in fact it was.
Twenty-one years ago in the spring of 2000, a 19-year-old shortstop named Rafael Furcal jumped all the way from Class-A to the Atlanta Braves, who were then coming off a fifth World Series in nine years. Furcal not only made the team, but quickly won a starting job and was chosen as National League Rookie of the Year.
Trouble was, Furcal was actually 22, not 19.
As with many players from the Dominican Republic in that era, Furcal had falsified his age as an amateur.