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Is Scott Boras losing his touch?

Posted by Emmett Jones in Baseball

Scott Boras is a super agent, this much is certainly true. His biggest claim to fame is, and probably forever will be, Alex Rodriguez’s 10 year $252 million dollar contract; the richest contract in sports history.

But recently? Boras’ track record has been less than stellar. First it started out with his extremely poor timing of A-Rod’s announcement to opt out of his contract. Then, that was followed up with A-Rod going to Warren Buffet (instead of Boras) to receive advice about resolving his “dispute” with the Yankees (apparently Boras “advised” A-Rod to opt out of the Yankees deal). And last week, Boras’ longtime client, Kenny Rogers, decided to fire Boras, as he was dissatisfied with Boras’ representation.

Darren Heitner at Sports Agent Blog summed up my thoughts on this matter perfectly,

I certainly can’t blame the guy for trying to get as much money for his clients, but at the same time, he needs to realize that money is not everything. That is especially true for someone who has already earned a bunch of money and would like to keep a good reputation (A-Rod) or a player who has made top dollars, wants to play in a certain city, and is at the end of his career at the age of 43 (Rogers).

So, has Boras lost his touch? Has he become so greedy that its interfering with his ability to adequately represent his clients? Maybe, maybe not. I mean, this is the guy that managed to get Daisuke Matsuzaka $450.00 for each autographed baseball he signed (good “sports-agenting” or pure greed? its up to you to decide). Of course, only time (this winter) will tell for sure. Boras’ next litmus test? former Braves CF Andruw Jones, who became a free agent this October. Apparently, negotiations aren’t going as well as planned for Jones, who had a subpar year (.222-26-94) and is competing with some other big free agent CF’s (Aaron Rowand and Torii Hunter).

It’s your move Mr. Boras. The rest of us are watching to see if you sink, or swim.

Wikipedia: Alex Rodriguez Page

Sports Business Digest: A-Rod leaves Yankees, loses $91 million, respect

ESPN: Report: Buffett advised A-Rod to go around Boras

ESPN: Lefty Rogers fires agent Boras, will represent himself

Sports Agent Blog: Sell stock in Boras Corp?

Sports Business Digest: Sports Agents who are on their game: Scott Boras

Sports Business Digest: Atlanta Fans: Waive goodbye to Andruw Jones

ESPN: Boras: Jones isn’t going to settle for a one-year deal