“I've had enough of scheming and messing around with jerks
My car is parked outside, I'm afraid it doesn't work
I'm looking for a partner, someone who gets things fixed
Ask yourself this question: Do you want to be rich?
I've got the brains, you've got the looks
Let's make lots of money
You've got the brawn, I've got the brains
Let's make lots of money”
--Opportunities (Let’s Make Lots of Money), Pet Shop Boys (Please, 1985)
“Please allow me to introduce myself/I’m a man of wealth and taste.”
--Sympathy for the Devil, Rolling Stones (Beggar’s Banquet, 1968)
Deep Inside, Yes, Deep Inside
The fans don’t like me. That’s okay. I don’t work for the fans.
The press doesn’t like me. That’s okay. I don’t work for the press, either.
Major League Baseball doesn’t like me. And that’s a good sign. That means I’m doing my job well.
My job is very clear. I will do my best to make sure my clients get paid as much as possible. Why do people have a hard time understanding this? Why does everyone get so upset?
Our Careless Explanations
I know that my clients want to be rich. I know they want to get paid. I know they want to get every single cent they can. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have hired me. They would have hired someone else. Makes sense, right? When they hire me, they know what they want. When they hire me, they know exactly what they are getting. Everybody knows my reputation. This isn’t a secret. It’s not a mystery. I will do everything possible to get a big contract. That’s my goal. So when a player asks me to represent him, that player is making a statement. That player is making a declaration. He’s saying, I want my money. Loud and clear. Which is fine. We all deserve to make as much money as we can. I truly believe that. So should you.
You would like me if I worked for you. You would cheer for me if I represented your kid. Deep down, inside your heart, you believe that. Deep down, inside your heart, you know that to be true.
Have you ever had to ask for a raise? Have you ever had to name a starting salary at your job? Have you ever had to negotiate a mortgage with your bank? It’s a rough situation, right? You don’t feel like you have a lot of leverage. You feel powerless and weak. It’s not a pleasant circumstance. And when it happens, do you root for the bank? Do you suggest that the bank increase their interest rates so that you end up having to pay more? So that you end up with less money? You don’t have to answer that. We both know the answer to that. Just sayin’.
If I worked for you, negotiating for you at your desk job, I would do the same thing I always do. And you would want me to. You wouldn’t bring me on board to get your salary cut. You wouldn’t hire me to take a demotion. You wouldn’t choose me as your representation in order to leave money on the table, and shortchange yourself. No. Of course not. That doesn’t make any sense. You deserve to be paid as much as you can get.
The Work Ethic Blues
People don’t like me because I’m a fighter. People don’t like me because I’m a warrior. People don’t like me because I don’t make things easy. People are afraid of conflict. They are afraid of confrontation. I’m not. I am at home standing in the middle of chaos. I am comfortable in the warm flames of controversy. Criticism doesn’t bother me. I have a job to do. That’s all I care about. I care about you and your financial future. You didn’t hire me to care about anything else.
Every dollar is a battle. Every dollar is a war. Every dollar has an eventual resting place, either in your wallet, or in the bank account of your employer. Those are the two destinations. Either you get paid, or your employer profits. I believe that dollar belongs to you. I believe you deserve to get paid. You are my client. You hired me. I work for you. We both want the same thing. We both want to make you rich. And when you bring me on board, when we become a team, we don’t back down. We fight. We make a stand. We make sure you get everything you deserve. Everything you’re worth. Why is that a bad thing? It’s not. It’s a good thing.
Choose Your Heroes Wisely, Son
Do you know that baseball is a monopoly? Our country is founded on the idea that monopolies are evil. Did you know that baseball has a draft? Kids can’t choose their employers. They are forced to join the franchise that selects them, even if it’s run by an incompetent, selfish, and lazy owner. During the Vietnam War, kids used to burn draft cards. Kids used to move to Canada to dodge the draft. The country of the United States eventually abolished the draft. Drafts force you to do things you don’t want to do. They take away your freedom. We all know drafts are bad for the common man. And that’s who I represent, the common man. I represent high school kids and college kids and teenagers in negotiations against billionaire owners. I do. You can look it up. It’s well documented.
The color barrier. The reserve clause. Collusion. Listen, when history writes the book on my contract negotiations, it won’t come down on the side of the owners and the monopoly and the big corporations. History won’t. Trust me. It never does.
Look, maybe here’s a story that will help explain things a little. Maybe things will make a little more sense, and maybe they won’t. Do you ever get angry when you pull up to a gas station? You look at the prices, see how much they’re charging, think about how the oil industry is getting rich and profiting while you’re out there struggling to make a living and busting your hump trying to make ends meet? Yeah? Well, I’m the guy trying to lower those gas prices. I’m the guy fighting the oil industry. I’m the guy trying to put more money in your wallet, and not in the bank account of the major corporations. Symbolically, that’s my fight. In principle, that’s what I try to do every day. You can think about that for a second. I don’t know if it will help.
Tonight is a Good Time to Think Things Over
People like to bring up my handling of Manny’s case when he left Boston. Or J.D. Drew’s case after he got drafted. Or when A-Rod opted out of his contract in New York. And now the developing situation with Pedro Alvarez. They talk about how I ruin people’s lives for my own gains. And they don’t understand that they have everything backwards. Completely backwards. I’m the agent. They’re the clients. I work for them. They don’t work for me. I’m the advisor. They’re the decision makers. People don’t want to see that because they want to be able to put the players on a pedestal and look up to them. Or people want to root for the team, and the people running it. But it’s easy to blame the agent. Nobody’s on my side. It’s always easy to blame me for all the problems of the world.
You know, I don’t use guns. I don’t use weapons. I don’t hurt people or resort to violence. All I do is ask for money. I’m an agent. It’s a negotiation. I don’t force teams to chase my clients. That’s up to them. I don’t force teams to offer up big contracts. That’s up to them. All I do is ask for money. If the team doesn’t want to sign my guys, if they think I’m asking for too much – they should just walk away. How hard is that? Like I said, I don’t have a gun. Just walk away.
But if you’re not going to walk away, then pay my guy what he’s worth. It’s that simple. Why all the outrage? Why all the finger-pointing and the accusation? I’m Scott Boras. Everyone knows exactly who I am.
I know people are mad out there. I know. I hear them. I’m not deaf. Fans of the game, baseball writers who report the news. Listen, I want to ask those guys a question. This is what makes you mad? This is what makes you angry? This is the target of righteous indignation? Not Rwanda, or Chechnya, or Bosnia? Not Starvation, or Poverty, or Racism? Really? You guys are getting worked up over an agent asking a cheap, greedy owner for more money? Do you think maybe you’ve missed the point? Do you think maybe you’re off the mark? Because, if so, you might want to take a second to look yourself in the mirror. Frankly, you might want to think about the things that are truly important in life. I strongly suggest you pick another cause.
If I was bad at this job, you would know. It would be very obvious. People would stop hiring me. I would not have any clients. None. But that hasn’t happened. Every year, the top prospects and free agents ask for my services. Even though they know it won’t be a popular choice. Even though they know people will hold it against them. He’s a Boras client. It’s like a stigma. But they don’t care. They’ll hire me, anyways.
Because I’m good at what I do. Believe that.
You don’t love me or admire me. That’s fine. You don’t need to love or admire me. I’m not here to be loved and admired. I’m here to get as much money as possible. That’s the job. That’s all that matters.
(Still, it would be nice if I could do my job well and still be loved and admired. That would be pretty cool. But that’s not my life. I guess I can’t have that life. I guess that’s too much to ask…)
Okay. Enough talk. We’ve wasted too much time. Back to work. I’ve got a job to do.
Let’s make some money.
If you have any thoughts you want to share, I would love to hear from you. I can be contacted at roeltorres@post.harvard.edu. Thank you.