Scott Boras and the Rising Tide

   Since 1982, there has been no other man that can attain bigger record setting deals. The superstar-in-need of the big payday has him at his side. He is their weaponry against their employer, but a shark to owners. There are a bevy of All-Star players that have enlisted his services: Carlos Beltran, Barry Zito, Alex Rodriguez, and many more; not to mention those that will continue to seek Scott Boras.


   Even as owners and fans roll their eyes at some of these excessive contracts in the $200 million range, it is refreshing to note that this is not a corporate outsider working into baseball, but one that has a connection with it. Scott Boras received a baseball scholarship to the University of the Pacific in 1972, leading his team with a .312 batting average. Four years later, he would be named All-Star of the Florida State League, and had played four minor league seasons with the St. Louis Cardinals and the Chicago Cubs. Unfortunately, he would not make the majors because of knee problems; from there he has gone on to pursue a law degree and found the Boras Corporation, having been there for more than thirty years.


   If there could ever be a non-baseball candidate for the Hall of Fame, he would certainly be the first. The influence Boras has had in affecting the machinations of the sport are numerous, all in his role of a high-profile agent. His stratagems to secure the best, has forced the MLB to take counter measures in the free agency, salary arbitration, and the draft. He has manipulated the system by: secretly having a high-school client enter the draft pool, and having not been selected, becoming free to negotiate with any team; he has exploited some of the most obscure rules, such as in 1996, when after fifteen days, he had his clients declare free agency because their respective teams lost their rights to the players (a rule teams did not pay attention to). This eventually led to an immense bidding war, with baseball having to clean up the mess and close tight the loop hole. If anything, Boras has shown how much of a master he is at manipulating MLB's free market.

Carlos Beltran & Scott Boras

   To paraphrase journalist Hunter S. Thompson, just as it seems this great wave of free agent boom grows and grows, there comes appoint where it finally settles and crashes. Why organizations continue to chase down these kind of contracts is perplexing. These hundred million dollar contracts are not paid in one lump sum, but over a period of years, usually five or more. In the long run, it is a burning hole in any teams' fat wallet. It goes without saying that money may be flowing throughout Major League ownership, but prudence is a rare commodity. Players who sign these contracts are usually at or about to hit their prime, but by contracts end their production enters a steep decline. Some cautionary tales include: Carlos Beltran in 2005 ( seven years, $119 million dollars), or Barry Zito in 2006 (seven years, $126 million). The most ridiculous of these contract's is Alex Rodriguez's latest signed in 2007 for 10 years ($275 million) where he will be signed until he is 41, and just as his production starts to decline.


   The wave might just break. There is a new trend in baseball management which tries to stem the flow of these aggressive contract hikes. Organizations are now quickly paying extensions to their star players in order to avoid a bitter bidding war. Some of the new beneficiaries of these extensions include: two-time Cy Young winner Tim Lincecum and 2010 National League MVP Joey Votto. This is incidentally, also is a way of coping with the long economic recession as well.


   Just like all good history, it remains to be seen what will cool the fires of free agency. I'm sure that when Curt Flood made the first step towards free agency in days-gone-by, none could have figured the gargantuan offers that are thrown around to day. Who knows if this will be the beginning of smarter contracts, but if there's a way through the tightening of the purse strings, then it remains to be seen if Scott Boras is still worth his salt in the final negotiation.