Brassbound battle over change fit for chumps

Wednesday, May 27, 1998

Brassbound battle over change fit for chumps

COLUMN: Sports agent Boras loses for Drew two years in major
leagues

A while back, I broke the Daily Bruin’s code of silence and
revealed the secret of the "Jackass of the Month." As result, I was
forced to flee into the UCLA student media’s Witness Protection
Program, and have been writing under an assumed identity ever since
(hence the picture that looks nothing like me). That’s why I
haven’t been able to update you as to the Jackasses that have shown
themselves since then.

But no more. Like Sammy "the Bull" Gervano, I refuse to live in
fear any longer (no word yet on an NBC movie of the week on my
life, but keep your fingers crossed).

Here, then, are the Jackasses of the Month the Daily Bruin
didn’t want you to see; pray that my bringing them to you doesn’t
cost me my life. I only hope it’s enough …

This week’s Jackass is Scott Boras, sports agent and major
league putz.

Boras represents J.D. Drew, a former star outfielder with
Florida State and the second pick in last year’s major league
baseball draft, who currently has his professional career on hold
as a result of Boras’ actions.

Intent on securing the big bucks for his client, and,
subsequently, for himself, Boras demanded that the Phillies pay an
$11 million bonus for signing Drew to an initial four year contract
(this is, of course, on top of the actual salary he would earn each
season). Needless to say, the team was a little hesitant to pay
that kind of money for a prospect who had yet to show he could play
at the major league level (Anyone remember Todd Van Poppel?).

Over the ensuing months, Boras tried various strategies to get
his client declared a free agent so he could sign with another
team, from outright lying (when he claimed the Phillies had not
made an offer before the league’s deadline) to attempting to
exploit loopholes in the definition of what constitutes "amateur"
status.

As these tricks failed, Boras continued negotiations with
Philadelphia, reportedly dropping the desired signing bonus down to
$5 million and using the $11 million figure for the contract as a
whole. The Phillies, however, were reportedly unwilling to go above
a $2.6 million bonus, which would have been a record for a drafted
amateur, and an overall deal that could have reached $6 million
with incentives.

The two failed to reach an agreement before Major League
Baseball’s deadline this weekend, so now Drew will go back into the
draft, to be selected by another team, and the process will start
all over.

Needless to say, Boras was not a math student in college, and
his grasp of common sense is a little tenuous.

If the team that drafts Drew this year similarly refuses to meet
Boras’ demands, and there’s no reason to assume they won’t, Drew
will have lost two years from his major league career and the huge
check that would have come with it.

As a result, even if some team eventually gives Drew that $11
million, he likely will have lost money compared with if he had
just signed with the Phillies. By losing those two seasons, Drew
will have to wait that much longer for salary arbitration and true
free agency: if he turns out to be anything like the player
everyone thinks he’ll be (the comparisons are in the Brady Anderson
to Barry Bonds range), this is where the real money will lie. With
superstar outfielders bringing in as much as $10 million per
season, the $1.2 million per year Boras is quibbling over now is
chump change. At $7 million to $8 million per season, the two years
of his career that Drew might lose would cost him $9 million to $10
million, even with his initial $11 million contract.

Penny wise and pound foolish, Scott; you jackass.

On a related note, in an unprecedented move, the honor of
Dumbass of the Month was awarded to Drew and his family for
allowing Boras to use them like this.

Wait, what’s that? … Someone’s coming! I’d better go. Until
next time, beware of the Jackass!

As a result of his efforts against the horses’ rears of the
sporting world, senior Kariakin now has a $2.50 price on his head,
a record for a Daily Bruin sportswriter.