Bloggy Friday: Great Scott!
People around baseball don't always have very nice things to say about Superagent Scott Boras. But nobody should doubt that he does his job very well. He doesn't win every fight, but he wins most of them; he gets his players a lot more money than they might have gotten otherwise. And when you come right down to it, that's a pretty good description of an agent's job.
I bring this up because there seems to be some sort of feeling that Boras "caved in" when it came to Royals draft pick Mike Moustakas. This is because Boras only got Mike a $4 million signing bonus. This just shows you the sheer genius of Boras. He wins even when people think he loses.
When the Royals drafted Mike Moustakas, they were strongly led to believe by the family that he would sign for slot money. That's $3.15 million for the No. 2 pick in the country. At the time, you have to remember, Moustakas was not necessarily viewed as the second-best player in the country. Many people liked high school pitcher Rick Porcello more. Many people like Georgia Tech catcher Matt Wieters more. Some people liked high school hitter Josh Vitters more. There were others too. People generally viewed this draft like the end verse of the original Gilligan's Island theme song -- "David Price and the rest." Moustakas was one of the rest. Sure, he was certainly well-liked by scouts, but nobody was comparing him to Alex Rodriguez. Well, not until after the draft anyway.
Point is, Moustakas' family had every right to be thrilled by what was happening. Suddenly Mike was the No. 2 pick in the country and he was going to get more than $3 million, this was way more than they had expected. Mike wanted to play ball, and this looked to be an easy deal and a whole lot of money.
This is where Scott Boras comes in. Scott does not settle. It doesn't make him likeable -- to management or to fans -- but from what I can tell, he doesn't care about that. He cares about getting his player the most money. And so for two months, he did not even talk to the Royals. He didn't even call to turn down the slot money offer, he made it seem like an offer of $3.15 million was beneath contempt. Scott understood the thing that all tough agents understand. Time was on his side.
After a while, the tension started to deepen. Scott Boras likes tension. At first, everybody around baseball believed that Moustakas would eventually sign. But after a while, doubt creeped in. Scott Boras likes doubt. He floated this whole thing about Moustakas being the best high school infielder since A-Rod, and that was quoted in lots of places. Sure, it was generally quoted in the ironic "Here's Boras being Boras" context, but that doesn't matter -- Moustakas-A-Rod. The two names became somehow linked in the mind.
Then people started PREDICTING that Moustakas would not sign. Now it was more than doubt. Now it was apparent that the Royals had to do something or lose the No. 2 pick in the draft. A couple of days before the draft, Boras' lieutenant said that Moustakas' would not sign for less than $7 million. Another brilliant tactic -- the impossibly high demand. Boras knew he wasn't getting $7 million for the kid -- but that wasn't the point. The point was panic. Scott Boras LOVES panic.
The day of the draft deadline, Boras left a message with our own Star reporter Sam Mellinger -- "I talked to the family; I think Mike is going back to school." Well, there it was, the final salvo, a cherry on top of the panic sundae. Sam called me and we talked about it. We appreciated that could be a last-day tactic. But what can you do? When Scott Boras tells you the kid's going back to school, that's news. Up it went on the Internet. The Royals suddenly looked like big losers.
That's about the time when Royals GM Dayton Moore went back to ownership and they moved the offer up to $4 million. That was a high as Moore was going to go -- that's what Alex Gordon got two years before, and Gordon was a much more advanced prospect coming out of college than Moustakas is coming out of high school. The Royals then waited and waited, and 10 minutes before the deadline Boras called and said that against his recommendation, the family had decided to accept the offer. This is another brilliant Boras trait. He's always happy and ready to make himself the bad guy.
And this is how, with a little manipulation, a few unreturned calls, and a bad-ass reputation, Scott Boras got Mike Moustakas 850,000 more dollars than anyone had any right to expect. That's not a bad two month's work. And people think he lost, which I would guess just makes it all the sweeter.
15 comments:
I'm not sure I get all the ire I hear from some fans about how greedy Moustakas is. This could be the only pro contract he ever signs, why shouldn't he ask for all he can? Isn't that what makes America great?
Anyway, I'm glad he signed and that everyone seems happy.
I, too, have long been impressed by the maneuverings of Scott Boras, but I have to admit: your narrative made contract negotiation into a far better story than, perhaps, it ever should have been.
The heroic story of the Royals destroying Boras and saving baseball, as told by Kevin Kietzman yesterday on 810, made me very sad. Joe's take is much more sane. Lacking true heroes and villains, yes, but at least explained with some knowledge of how baseball actually works.
Boras is a wanna be GM/Owner and a bitter ex ballplayer to boot. He's just extracting his pound of flesh-same as it ever was.
Nice touch refusing to answer phone calls. Think I'll start doing that at my job.
Not sure I agree with the line 'that 850k more than anyone had reason to expect' is entirely accurate. Sounds like 3.15 (or whatever the slot money was) was the minimum expected based on the draft pick. Before he was drafted 2nd perhaps 3.15 was more than he could/should hope for, but after it occurred that became the minimum.
Overall though, I kind of agree with you, that Borris wins even when he sort of loses.
Gee, I could be a huge jerk for a couple of months if it got me 5% of $4 million! Where do I sign up? Bonus points if I'm hawking something that may never pan out, and more bonus points if I take the money from someone who doesn't have a lot to begin with.
Joe,
Does anyone know if Scott Boras is related to Steve Boras, the former manager of the A's and Padres in the '80s? I've looked for that info, but have never been able to find anything on it.
I have to disagree (somewhat) with the thought that Boras won here. No doubt the kid won--hell the kid won if he signed for 3.15 million--but when deciding if the Royals or Boras won or lost, it becomes a PR issue. And PR-wise Boras lost. He played the PR card to compare this kid to A-Rod and demand $7 million and threaten to go to USC. And in the end, the kid signs for $4 which is most decidely not A-Rod money, it's not even Rick Porcello money. So in the end, all of Boras' talk looks like bluster. And the Royals look like the ones that didn't blink. (Who would have guessed it).
Now, I'm sure Boras doesn't care if people like me think he lost, he'll gladly cash his check just the same, but if one side lost and one side won, he lost.
And I would be so sure that $7 million was a crazy high offer--look at what the Yankees paid, or what the best HS pitcher in the draft got. Boras says the signing was against his advice (which may not be true since it makes the kid look good) but it may be true, given some of the things the family has stated about just wanting to play ball.
Love the blog, but disagree with you on this one.
Using the word "creeped" in a post about Boras is a nice (if unintentional) double-entendre.
I cannot get all worked up about any of these deals or any of the cat-and-mouse games played by agents, GMs, and owners. It is what it is.
I find this negotation fascinating. Try to determine what Moustakas (or family) instructed Boras to do.
I think a very reasonable explanation is that upon being drafted, the Moustakasasas told Boras "Mike is going to sign for slot" and Boras said "let me see what I can get you."
I've handled many, many negotations, and Joe's take on this is correct: What you really don't want is the other side to have any read on what your bottom line is. From everything I have read about Mike Moustakas, he wants to sign and play baseball this year, and he was somewhat surprised to be picked 2nd. The most rational explanation for how this negotiation went is that Boras agreed to try to get him whatever he could over 3.15 million. In that is the case, Boras won. He got the maximum dollar value out of the Royals.
Charlie,
That was Steve Boros, not Boras, who manged the A's. No relation.
What if Billy Butler is right? Moustakas gave away a season of development for $850,000. If he never makes it to the majors, that seems smart. If he has a ten year career that could have been an eleven year career, then it probably costs him several million dollars on the back end.
What if a summer of inactivity puts him behind two years of development? Does $850K, which becomes $400K to $450k after agent fees and taxes make the summer hold out worth it?
As long as sports are where they are in American society, there will always be jobs for guys like Scott Boras. You can hate on the guy, but he's good at what he does. If my son gets drafted first round, you're damn well sure I'd want him representing us. (And by us I mean me..and maybe my kid)
Heh
Joe: Don't stay away for long. We have to know if Mike Sweeney will re-sign for 2008 at a Royal at league minimum. And will he be a third string catcher, or second string DH?
You can't think of the outcome of negotiations as "winners" or "losers"; most of the time, both sides feel like they won and lost, because both compromise to arrive at an agreement. The Royals paid more than they would have liked, but got the player they wanted. Boras and Moustakas didn't get the money they wanted, but they got alot, and Moustakas gets to play baseball. As a lawyer, I've always found that if both sides end up a little unhappy, it is probably a good compromise.
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