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Wednesday, June 14
HBO report claims Furcal is 22, not 19


Atlanta Braves shortstop Rafael Furcal is 22 years old, not 19, according to a report on HBO's "Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel" that aired Monday night.

Furcal was arrested early Saturday morning and charged with drunken driving and underage alcohol consumption.

Reporter Bernard Goldberg showed a picture on "Real Sports" of a document that he said was Furcal's actual birth certificate. If the report is true, Furcal could not be charged with underage consumption.

If Furcal is indeed 19, he will remain the youngest player in the major leagues. If he is 22, he won't even be the the youngest player on the Braves.

Asked about the report, Furcal told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, "You're crazy."

Braves manager Bobby Cox told the paper, "I have no clue. I've never heard that."

HBO said the copy of Furcal's birth certificate it displayed was obtained from a government office in Furcal's hometown in the Dominican Republic, Loma de Cabrera.

Furcal was arrested Saturday morning after failing a sobriety test in a grocery-store parking lot, police said.

Furcal goes on 15-day DL: Furcal was placed on the 15-day disabled list Tuesday after suffering a strained right hamstring in the first inning of Monday's game against the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Furcal started the Braves' three-run first with a double down the line that got past Pirates' right fielder Adrian Brown. But Furcal pulled up lame at second and was taken out of the game an inning later.

To replace Furcal on the roster, Atlanta recalled infielder Mark DeRosa from the Triple-A Richmond Braves of the International League. DeRosa batted .319 with no homers and 15 RBI in 39 games at Richmond.

Furcal is batting .311 with no homers and 12 RBI in 55 games for the Braves.
 


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