The Marlins sign Domingo Aramboles, 16-year-old Dominican pitcher, to a contract, giving him a $5,500 signing bonus. Aramboles produces a birth certificate showing he’s 16, but later on it is discovered that he is only 14, and the Commissioner’s office will nullify the contract. His 1.71 minor league ERA will earn him a big bonus when he signs again in 1998. Josephang Bernhardt, another Latin ballplayer who will produce a phony birth certificate, will be taken away from Tampa Bay and sign with Toronto for $750,000.

On July 2, 1996 The Marlins sign Domingo Aramboles, 16-year-old Dominican pitcher, to a contract, giving him a $5,500 signing bonus. Aramboles produces a birth certificate showing he’s 16, but later on it is discovered that he is only 14, and the Commissioner’s office will nullify the contract. His 1.71 minor league ERA will earn him a big bonus when he signs again in 1998. Josephang Bernhardt, another Latin ballplayer who will produce a phony birth certificate, will be taken away from Tampa Bay and sign with Toronto for $750,000.

 

Source:

Baseball Reference July 2