Thursday, July 12th, 2007 by Adam Wagner
Is Scott Boras Trying to Ruin Baseball?
Superagent Scott Boras came dangerously close to ruining baseball once before, when he and a few rich owners pushed contracts to ridiculous levels at the start of the new millennium. Now, in A-Rod’s probable contract year, it is Boras again who is trying to fiddle with baseball’s power structure.
This is a man who cares about nothing more than making money for himself through his clients, and he has done so in the past by turning free agency into a massive event each offseason. The growth of baseball is, at this point, more important to Scott Boras than it is to any of the owners simply because he is in control of the game’s stars. At this point, though, Boras’ control has reached a completely ridiculous and dangerous point.
It started two weeks ago when Boras argued for changing the format of the World Series. This idiotic plan involved changing the best-of-seven series to a best-of-nine, with the first two games being at neutral sites. It may produce more revenue and, therefore, be better for Boras, but how does that benefit either one of the teams involved? It merely takes away some home field advantage and, considering Boras’ status as agent to many of the biggest stars, allows his clients to be showcased. Never mind messing with one of the most fundamental and consistent events of the game, the best-of-seven series. Also interesting is that Boras actually believes that this would succeed. He thinks that cities would “bid far in advance” (a la the Olympics) for a game that would draw worse TV ratings a Browns-Lions game? Highly unlikely.
As Jim Leyland said before the All Star Game, the game is booming. The players are more intriguing than ever been before, and the game is more interesting than it has been in a long time with the same structure that has not failed in over 100 years. That is not something you mess with by creating a nine game World Series.
Boras’ next idea was more idiotic and selfish than the first, however, as he proposed to create a new stat. This proposed new stat, called the “EP” or “exceptional play,” would be used to label a fantastic play by a fielder. It would essentially be the official scorer telling everyone in the stadium that a Web Gem just occurred. One of Boras’ arguments is that ESPN has already trained fans for such a statistic with the Web Gem. That’s ridiculous. The Web Gem is one program’s way of accruing the best of the best plays. No one needs to have an official stat to recognize defense. If Ozzie Smith and Bill Mazeroski could gain entry to the Hall of Fame, there’s no reason that this generation’s great defenders can’t do the same. They don’t need a statistic to do it.
Boras argues that defense has always been a trait in baseball players that is respected but not counted. Everybody knows who the good defenders are and respect them for their ability. If Boras really wants to emphasize how good of a defender whichever client he’s focused on representing that day is, he can just make one of his infamous highlight packages.
The main point is that Scott Boras is attempting to mess with the basic structure of the game to benefit himself and his clients instead of the game as a whole. This is someone who has no place in the game, simply because his bank account is more important to him than the game, the players, the fans, and anyone or anything associated with baseball. This fact is becoming more and more obvious with each new powerplay that Boras attempts to make. The only question is what’s next for him and his clients? This week, with the Yankees potentially opening negotiations with Boras client Alex Rodriguez, could be particularly interesting.
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