Isabel Girón

Isabel Antonio Girón

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 2", Weight 160 lb.

• Born November 17, 1973 in Villa Mella, Santo Domingo D.R.

BR Register page

Biographical Information

Isabel Girón pitched in the minor leagues and the CPBL. His brothers are former minor league pitchers Roberto Girón and Emiliano Girón

Girón was signed by the Toronto Blue Jays and spent 1995-1997 in the Dominican Summer League, and he went 10-9 with a 2.49 ERA for the Hagerstown Suns in 1998. He was 4th in the South Atlantic League in ERA, between Todd Belitz and John Sneed. He also pitched 6 games for the Knoxville Smokies, and he was 1-1 with a 3.82 ERA. Giron stayed in Knoxville in 1999, and he went 7-5 with a 4.89 ERA before the Blue Jays traded him to the San Diego Padres for Juan Melo in July. Giron was 4-7 with a 7.04 ERA for the Mobile BayBears in the rest of the season.

In 2000, Giron pitched 69 games for the BayStars, and his ERA was 5.58 with a 5-5 record and 5 saves. He led the Southern League in appearances. He was second in the affiliated minors in games pitched, five behind Keith Forbes. Giron had a solid 1.96 ERA in 14 games in Mobile in 2001, but his ERA rose to 4.87 in 44 relief outings for the AAA Portland Beavers. He was let go when they discovered he was 29 years old, not 24 as he claimed; he had been using his sister's birth certificate. No effort was made to find out his real first name. He then went 5-3 with a 3.45 ERA for the St. Paul Saints in 2002, and he also pitched 3 games with a 2.25 ERA for the Sioux City Explorers. Giron pitched for the Vaqueros Laguna, and he went 9-9 with a 3.76 ERA.

The Chinatrust Whales of Taiwan then signed him in 2004, and Giron was 3-2 with a 3.53 ERA for them. His brother Emiliano also pitched for the Whales that same year. He was 6-2 with a 3.77 ERA for the Sultanes de Monterrey in 2005, and he went 1-0 with a 4.09 ERA in 2006. He also had a 2-2 record with a 7.48 ERA for the Dorados de Chihuahua in 2006. Giron allowed 12 runs in 7 games for the Rio Grande Valley WhiteWings in 2007, and he pitched 4 games with a 19.00 ERA for the St. George Roadrunners in 2008 to wrap up his career.

Following the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks and the passage of the Patriot Act, the U.S. Government began to review visas granted to foreign baseball players with great attention. In addition to it being revealed that a large numbers of these players had given a false birthdate (usually but not always to make themselves appear younger and therefore more attractive prospects), a number of cases of false identity were also uncovered. The numbers of players affected was so important that Baseball America ran a regular column called "Age Gate" which listed the changes in vital statistics thus uncovered. In that mass, Girón stood out because while others had assumed the identity and documents of a relative (normally a brother or cousin), he had taken on that of his younger sister. In retrospect, it was realized that the female first name "Isabel" should have raised alarm bells, but it did not because strange and unusual first names are common in the Dominican Republic. Since Girón (or, more properly, his younger sister) was already 29 when the switcheroo was discovered, he was released by the Padres without their bothering to find out his true identity.

Further Reading

• Mike DiGiovanna: "Even With a Scorecard, You Can’t Tell the Players", Los Angeles Times, February 1, 2003. [1]