Boras Strikes Again

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Scott Boras

Before beginning a career as a mega sports agent, Scott Boras had a foray in Major League Baseball as a player in the minor league systems of the Chicago Cubs and St. Louis Cardinals. Injuries derailed the baseball playing career of Boras and he also wasn’t a fan of how he perceived that the was treated. Boras would then return to school and he would earn a law degree from the University of the Pacific in 1982 which was the foundation of his career as a sports agent. Boras has negotiated some of the biggest contracts in professional sports as the 10-year, $252 million contract that was signed by shortstop Alex Rodriguez in 2001 to join the Texas Rangers and the nine-year, $214 million deal in 2012 for first baseman Prince Fielder to become a member of the Detroit Tigers are just two of the many examples of his ability as an agent. But whereas Boras has made some baseball players into instant millionaires, he is not without his fair share of skeptics and detractors.

Boras is a master negotiator who is known to hold teams hostage during contract discussions. Typically when a player that Boras represents hits free agency, there always seems to be a “mystery” team that he is in discussion with in order to drive up the player’s value on the open market. And like any strong negotiator, Boras has always been known to take a harsh stance while very rarely budging which has led to some mega deals for his clients who are always seeking to get the top dollar.

In 2007 at the advice of Boras, Rodriguez opted out of his contract with the New York Yankees. But Rodriguez and Boras decided to announce this during the World Series which drew a ton of criticism as it was deemed “disrespectful” to the Colorado Rockies and the Boston Red Sox who were the teams that were participating in the Fall Classic. The Yankees like most Major League Baseball teams have grown tired of Boras’s antics which led Rodriguez to parting with Boras as he negotiated a new contract with the Yankees by himself as he would get a new 10-year, $270 million deal in 2007. Prior to start of free agency in 2014, second baseman Robinson Cano split with Boras in order to join Roc Nation Sports which is a sports agency that is headed by music mogul Jay-Z. Cano would go on to sign with the Seattle Mariners to the tune of $240 million over ten years.

As you can tell by now Boras has always been known to be controversial which was on full display last week.

Boras currently represents New York Mets starting pitcher Matt Harvey. Harvey made his Major League Baseball debut in 2012 with the Mets and it didn’t take that long for him to become a cult hero in the Big Apple. Harvey was the starting pitcher for the National League at the 2013 MLB All-Star Game as he was now sitting on cloud nine. But Harvey’s dream season was cut short in 2013 as he was forced to undergo Tommy John surgery. Harvey would rehab and go on to miss the entire 2014 MLB season.

Matt Harvey

Upon Harvey’s return to the Mets this year, Harvey had been handled with the kid gloves as the team has monitored him and his workload very closely. But things took a turn for the worse late last week when Boras decided to exercise his right to be the spokesperson for Harvey.

Last week Boras enforced the notion that Harvey should have a strong innings limit of 180 this year following Tommy John surgery. So far in 2015, Harvey has thrown 171 2/3 innings and he didn’t make matters any better for himself when he failed to fully commit to pitching down the stretch of the regular season and potentially into the playoffs which is important to the Mets who find themselves in first place in the National League East with a six-game lead over the second place Washington Nationals as they are seeking their first trip to the postseason since 2006. With less than a month to go in the regular season, the Mets have more than a puncher’s chance to make the playoffs and the last thing that they need to have to deal with is the uncertainty that has been created by Harvey and Boras as it is the same script with just a partially different cast. The spotlight was on Harvey last night when he took the mound for the Mets against the Nats and he was charged with 7 runs. But the Mets offense bailed him out in their 8-7 comeback victory.

Baseball is a team sport, but Boras has always made it about him and his clients. And the latest victims of that are the Mets. Reports have swirled around ranging from Harvey only making two more starts this year to to potentially just being available for one start per each postseason round if the Mets were able to make it that far. What Harvey and Boras have let the Mets know is that you need us much more than we need you and it is a privilege for you to watch me pitch. And whereas Harvey has been the darling of New York City, he has lost all of that in the blink of an eye as the fans and media alike have now turned on him.

The Mets aren’t and they never will be able to hold a flame to their crosstown rivals in the Yankees as the Metropolitans are not a team that can contend for a World Series Title each year which makes their run this year very vital for the franchise. Harvey’s potential shutdown reeks of 2012 when the Nationals decided to shut down starting pitcher Stephen Strasburg after pitching 160 innings following his recovery from Tommy John surgery. The Nats would make the playoffs in 2012 and once they were eliminated in the National League Divisional Series by the St. Louis Cardinals, it was simply written off that they would be back next year. That wasn’t the case for the Nationals who missed the playoffs in 2013 and they have still failed to appear in the National League Championship Series.

Hall of Fame pitchers such as Tom Seaver, Steve Carlton, and Bob Gibson were big game pitchers and they always wanted the baseball when the chips were pushed to the middle of the table. They never allowed their agents to be their spokesperson on their health and they never put themselves in front of their team which is something that Harvey has allowed as those pitchers would have literally crawled to the mound. Harvey represents the new business savvy player with the “me first” philosophy. And if Harvey had a problem with the antics of Boras, he should have fired him.

Harvey grew up in Connecticut and he knows about how the media can turn on you in the big market of New York City which is what has happened to him now due to Boras.

In the past Boras has been extremely critical of the Mets due to the financial constraints of team owner Fred Wilpon. Boras knows how to get the top dollar for his clients, but it is getting to the point that Major League Baseball front offices don’t want to deal with him and the latest victim could be Harvey. When it comes to Tommy John recovery, every case is different and a doctor is clearly making a suggestion as nothing is fool proof. If Harvey feels fine, he should pitch; end of story. But this is not a matter that Boras should take it upon himself to discuss in the media. By Boras opening his mouth about Harvey, he has given the Mets an exucse to falter down the stretch of the regular season and into the playoffs, because it they lose, everyone will point to this. If the Mets were smart, it will be time for them to move on from Harvey this off-season regardless of what happens down the stretch here in 2015 as team general manager Sandy Alderson, manager Terry Collins, and players on the team now have to field unnecessary questions about Harvey. And things will only get worse when Harvey hits free agency as long as he allows Boras to be his mouth piece. It will take all 40 players coming down the stretch and 25 in October for the Mets to ultimately get where they want to go; not Harvey and the Mets. The Mets have proven that they can lose with or without Harvey as he nor Boras are bigger than the game of baseball.

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By | 2015-09-09T07:16:40+00:00 September 9th, 2015|Categories: Major League Baseball|Tags: , , |0 Comments

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