When it was learned that Los Angeles Dodgers' scout
Ralph Avila
signed Beltre when he was 15, a year younger than permitted, Beltre's agent
Scott Boras filed a grievance.
Bud Selig ordered that Beltre be paid $48,500, the difference between his bonus and what he would have received had he been signed at age 16. Selig refused Beltre's request to be granted free agency. (21 December 1999).