The Baseball Report Volume IV Issue 17
November 17, 2000
From The Editor,
Before you read the issue, I'd just like to remind you all to forward TBR to
anyone who you think may be interested, as the more people that read, the
better.
As always, the staff of The Baseball Report encourages and welcomes feedback,
so if you have an opinion or a comment on the issue, drop me a line.
Similarly, if you'd like to advertise in TBR or on the website, email
baseballreport@aol.com.
Now, onto the issue...
Michael Frankel
Editor-in-Chief
@@@@@@@@@@
Want to make some easy money? Check out www.NetFlip.com/personalReferFC.jsp?rei=852271
@@@@@@@@@@
The Super-Agent to the Stars by Emily Liner
The most reviled man in baseball is not commissioner Bud Selig or New
YorkYankees' owner George Steinbrenner. He is Scott Boras, agent to the
stars.
Several baseball fans believe that Boras is the evil force behind the sudden
rise in the salaries of baseball players. A chat in a chat room on
ESPN.com even said, "Boras is responsible for the downfall of
baseball." Well, he was the man behind Kevin Brown's seven year,
$105 million contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1998, a record at the time
for his annual salary.
That is just the tip of the iceberg of Scott Boras, Inc. The baseball law firm,
with a staff of 25 people, represents nearly fifty players, including Rick
Ankiel, JD Drew, Charles Johnson, Andruw Jones, Greg Maddux, Bernie Williams,
and this season's hottest free agent, Alex Rodriguez. In just the past
decade the company has represented 38 first round draft picks. Boras'
first client, Mike Fischlin, is now the head of his scouting department, which
is made up of ten former Major League baseball players. Jeff Musselman heads
the administrative office. The company uses a special database, which
Boras is very proud of, for player studies, arbitration cases, and historical
salary information.
Boras, a California native born in 1952, did not always intend to be an
agent. He earned a B.A. in chemistry from the University of the Pacific
in 1974. Two years later he received a Ph.D. in industrial
pharmacology. He played Minor League baseball from 1974 to1978 with the St.
Louis Cardinals and the Chicago White Sox; the farthest he got was
Double-A. He got a law degree in 1982, and practiced medical
litigation. Not until 1985 did he devote his career to representing
baseball players.
Another one of Boras' largest deals was the contract he brokered for Maddux in
1997 with the Atlanta Braves. It was a five-year agreement worth $57.5
million dollars. He also negotiated Williams' seven-year, $87.5 contract
with the New York Yankees in 1998.
"He's tenacious. He's prepared. He understands the game of
leverage. He knows how to use information and how to disseminate
it," says Jerry Colangelo, the owner ofthe Arizona Diamondbacks.
Boras has created much controversy with clients Drew and Ankiel. In 1997,
Drew was the Philadelphia Phillies'second pick. However, they were unable
to sign him because they could not afford him. He re-entered the draft in
1998, was taken fifth by St. Louis, and signed a four-year, $8.5 million
contract, the largest draft signing ever.
Ankiel was drafted in the second round by St. Louis in 1997 and signed a $2.5
million contract. He made his Major League debut at the young age of
20. Because of his youth, Boras made anagreement, outside of the
contract, that until Ankiel turned twenty-two he would be closely monitored and
kept on a one hundred-pitch count. Several people thought that was rather
strict, but Boras defended his decision well, saying that it was in Ankiel's
best interest.
All of this leads to the most popular subject of the 2000 season: A-Rod's status.
Rodriguez signed a fairly small contract as a rookie. Now he is a free
agent and one of the best players in the Major Leagues. With Toronto's
Carlos Delgado setting the table at 17 million dollars annually, many speculate
that Rodriguez could get as much as 25 million dollars. His age is big
factor. Since he is only 25, he has at least 15 good seasons ahead of
him. Boras is eager to get him as much money as possible, along with
extra bonuses like an escalator clause and team perks. To convince teams
that Rodriguezis an invaluable player, he wrote a 50 page book about his
future.
Many people think that Boras' tactics are sneaky. Some say that another
ploy he uses often is a "phantom buyers" ploy, which means that he
makes teams think that there are many pursuers of a player when there really
are a few. These tricks drive up a player's worth. Boras, however,
does not agree with these notions.
"As a lawyer I have an obligation to my clients and as a former baseball
player I have an obligation to the game of baseball. When you represent
any individual who's seeking millions ofdollars for work, you understand the
general public is going to look at it asif it is a function of greed or
behavior considered beyond the norm. Players, unlike most workers, are
the product being sold as well as the employee providing the service.
Their status is unique and it requires ananalysis," remarked Boras.
If that does not sum it up, Boras added, "In a world of contracts,market
placement, and sophisticated negotiations without proper representation in any
industry, a party would suffer due to lack of knowledge and informational
support."
Maybe Boras is not so bad after all… for the players he represents, at least.
@@@@@@@@@@
Get paid to surf the net!!! Check out
http://www.alladvantage.com/go.asp?refid=BBE198
@@@@@@@@@@
The Other Guys by Eric D. Larson
Now that the emotions of baseball’s on-the-field theatrics have subsided, it is
time for the managers, owners, and agents to step up tothe plate. Their
goal: realize thecommon ground between money and talent. There are plenty
of big name superstars on the free agent rosters, butlet us not forget the
other guys, the medium-level players testing the open waters. After all,
it might be that timely, yet unheralded acquisition that will make the
difference in the coming year.
It is now the job of coaches and scouts to pick that player whose stock is
likely to rise. With new players on the market right now, managers are
scrambling to build the perfect portfolio.
Ichiro Suzuki might be this year’s best buy out of free agency. He posted
big statistics in the Japanese Leagues last year and, incidentally, not on the
pitching mound. Suzuki batted .387 and possessed a .460 on-base
percentage in the 2000 season. It is anyone’s guess how these numbers
might transfer to the American major leagues. He would be the first
position player to make the switch.
Chicago fans would have a hard time picturing Mark Grace without a Cubs'
uniform, but the first baseman is a free agent this year. Grace has been
the lone factor of continuity in the Cubs line-up during the last decade,
hitting for high averages andr emaining virtually injury-free every
year. Without him, Chicago would have a significant hole in their lineup.
Grace is hoping to resign with his old team, and the feeling is definitely
mutual. The Cubs know that he is an important part of their formula, but a
high-dollar contract will have to be part of the equation.
With players like Sandy Alomar and Manny Ramirez on the run from Cleveland,
pitcher Jason Bere might be lost in the media fumble. Bere was a
midseason purchase in 2000. The Indians hoped he would provide the final
burst of energy that would vault their squad into the playoffs. He won six
games in 11 starts. It was not enough for the Indians, but ag ood year
for Bere might be in the books for any team willing to pick him up.
Perhaps the most valuable catcher in the American League, Charles Johnson, is
likely to leave Chicago and venture into the National League. In the
process, he figures to attract big dollars. Johnson sets himself apart
from Mets superstar Mike Piazza through his superior defensive skills. He
would certainly rival Piazza for a starting spot on the All Star Team in
2001. Right now, however, the prospective votes are too close to call.
Kevin Appier won 22 games in a season and a half with the Oakland
Athletics. He likely will command a hefty salary to stay with the
A’s. If they cannot pay their ace, he will make a nice addition to any
team’s rotation.
The Atlanta Braves are left with another disappointing postseason finish.
The possibility of losing first baseman Andres Galarraga can only add to their
distress. At age 39, resigning with the Braves may not be lucrative, but who
knows what team may be willing to break the bank for the Big Cat. He
batted .300 and drove in 100 runs last season, and his baseball toughness is
nothing short of legendary.
Todd Hundley is now a free agent, and the Dodger catche rmight raise eyebrows
with Major League managers. Hundley is a strong left-handed hitter, who
draws respect from his teammates. He would be a smart buy for any team.
The list of teamless big leaguers is enough to excite most baseball fans.
It seems that even the most loyal players have become disenfranchised, in the
quest for more money and stronger playoff chances. It is enough to give
every team president and manager headaches. Their only hope is that these
guys can play the same level of hardball on the field as they do at the
negotiation table.
@@@@@@@@@@
Looking to buy cards, collectibles, computers, appliances or just about
anything else real cheap? Check out uBid
@@@@@@@@@@
The Good, The Bad & The Ugly by Hollis T. Russell
With apologies to Clint Eastwood, Major League Baseball has shown brightly in
all three of the following categories in the last one hundred years, the Good,
the Bad, and the Ugly. Hopefully the good has outweighed the badand the
ugly but only history and public opinion can tilt the scale.
Atthe turn of the century, the newly formed American League offered higher
salaries to players of the established National League in an attempt to attain
instant credibility with the fans. This was good for the expansion of
baseball but bad for the owners of the National League as it forced them to pay
their players more money in order to keep them.
In 1905, the World Series became an annual event that forever silenced the
argument of who was the best team in baseball. This season also saw the
arrival of a young outfielder from Georgia, Ty Cobb. Of the 22 major
record categories of hitting and base stealing, Cobb is among the top ten
leaders in 15 of those all-time historical feats. Still. Good for
all.
In 1918, the Red Sox won their fifth and last World Championship of the 20th
Century. Good for Boston and Bad for Boston.
One year later, Ugly surfaces in the worst possible way. Seven players on
the Chicago White Sox secretly agreed to throw the Series against the Redlegs
in return for a $100,000 payoff by the bookies. Although the public was not
informed of this scar against baseball until September of the following year,
the damage was done. Ultimately, ten players were banned for life.
With baseball losing the confidence of the American people, drastic measures
were taken. Judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis was hired to form the office of
Commissioner of Baseball and slowly, the public returned to the
ballparks. Ugly.
Overshadowed by the so-called Black Sox Scandal,was the sale of Babe Ruth to
the Yankees so Boston owner, Harry Frazzie, could raise enough money to put on
his Broadway production of “No, No Nanette.” This travesty is known in
Boston as the “Curse of the Bambino” and is still referred to ad nauseum.
Good for baseball and Bad for the Red Sox Nation.
This began the first dynasty in MLB. First Ruth, then Gehrig in 24,
Muesel and Lazzeri in ’26 and a long string of Championships that began in ’23
and has yet to end. New category – Great.
The 1936-39 Yankees. Good for Roosevelt.
The 1949-53 Yankees. Good for Marilyn.
The1961-62 Yankees will always be spoken of in reverent terms, but it was the
accomplishments of Roger Maris that stand out. Maris did the unthinkable;
he broke “the Babe’s” longstanding home runrecord. Bad for Maris.
At the time, this amazing feat was unpopular because Ruth’s personality and
accomplishments both on and off the field made him an all-time great of the
game. Because of this fact, Maris’s record was forever put into
perspective with an asterisk because Babe hit his sixty homers in 154 games and
Maris hithis 61st in the final game of a 162 game schedule. That same
year, Mickey Mantle hit 54 homeruns, the most productive output of his
career. Good for Mantle.
An interesting side point, the M & M boys total for the year was 115.
This eclipsed the two-man mark of 107 set by Ruth and Gehrig in
1927. Good for baseball.
The Brooklyn Dodgers packed up and left New York after the 1957 season and
moved to sunny California. Bad for Brooklyn.
By 1963 there were few leftovers from the New York days but one in particular,
Johnny Podres pitched game two in the World Series and beat the Yankees
4-1. Los Angeles pitching proved too powerful as the Yanks went down in
four. LA only used three pitchers in that series; Podres, Don Drysdale
and a young kid named Sandy Koufax. The Dodger’s had a composite ERA of
1.00 and Koufax struck out a record 15 batters in game one. Good for
those who can remember pitching on three days rest.
The’64 Cards won with Bob Gibson, who led them to victory in the World Series
over the Yankees, their first since 1946. As great as Gibson was in a
Hall of Fame career, when the talk gets around to pitching, the nod goes to
Koufax. In '65, Sandy led the Dodgers to victory over the Twins pitching
three games in the Series with an ERA of 0.38. Although he lost game one,
his other two appearances were shutouts. Good for the official
scorekeeper.
The Red Sox of 1967 are another one of the great 60’s teams. Although the
Cards won the series in seven games with Gibson pitching in three games with an
ERA of 1.00, the Sox forever be remembered for the performance of Carl
Yastremski. “Yaz” won the coveted “Triple Crown” that year and was named
the American League MVP. To this day, no one else has reached this
pinnacle of hitting fame. Good for Teddy Ballgame, he did it twice.
The seventies brought the great Oakland A’s and their three consecutive World
Series victories. They gave Mr. October, Reggie Jackson who had a long
and storied career ending with the Yankees after 21 seasons. Good for
baseball and bad for George Steinbrenner.
The seventies are also noted for the “Big Red Machine,” led by Sparky
Anderson. Although they never put together a string ofWorld Series
victories to rival the great Yankee and Oakland teams, they were nonetheless
one of the finest teams ever assembled in the history of the game.
Unfortunately, that team also produced another Ugly, Pete Rose.
After his playing career ended, which included a record 4,256 hits, Rose went
into management. During his fifth season as the Reds manager, Tommy Helms
replaced him, for allegedly betting on MLB games. Although proof of his
involvement was clearly evident, Rose refused to admit his guilt and was banned
from baseball by Commissioner Bart Giamatti. When Pete Rose finally admits to
lying and baseball gets off its high horse, Rose should be eligible to join his
peers in the Hall of Fame. Disgustingly Ugly.
With the possible exception of Toronto in 1992-3 and the Braves of the 90’s,
there have been no great teams since the Redlegs of the 70’s. Until
now. The Yankees of 1996, 1998-2000 have proved that they can compete with
anybody history can throw at them. Led by Derek Jeter and Bernie
Williams, they have put together a return to the dynasty years of the
past. The managerial brilliance of Joe Torre cannot be underestimated and
although George Steinbrenner will deal some of this years Champions to other
teams, it is no secret that he will use his checkbook to make free agency work
for him again.
Of course there have been many other instances of good and bad in MLB this past
century, but they are far too numerous to list in the brief space allocated
here. The memories of the reader far outnumber these few incidents.
Lovers of baseball will remember those late afternoons in the old neighborhood
whenthe dinner hour was approaching and one of the guy’s said, “Let’s play one
more.” There must be a little bit of Ernie Banks in everybody.
@@@@@@@@@@
College student? High School Student? Graduate School
Student? Any kind of student? Check out this the place for students
for some great deals, and a great program for students
of all sorts!
@@@@@@@@@@
A New MVP System by Richard Courtens
The fact that some electors will not vote for pitchers or they will almost
completely ignore players on losing teams for MVP consideration is wrong.
To create a better method, I developed a new system.
At the end of each game, the following question is asked and answered: Who did
the most to lead his team to victory? This player is awarded three points;
the second place player is awarded two points and the third place player is
awarded one point. The votes may be split in the case of ties. As
an example, two players might be tied for first place and each would get two
and a half points; the remaining one point would be awarded to the third place
finisher(s). No player may ever be awarded more than three points.
The points were totaled for the season.
Some critics challenge the awarding of points to players on losing teams.
One classic example which occurred this season comes to mind. On May 6,
Pedro Martinez lost 1-0 to Steve Trachsel. Trachsel easily was the
"3-pointer." But Martinez deserved second or third place
consideration. He did as much as a pitcher can do to contribute to team
success.
Tree people collaborated this year to implement this system.
Unfortunately, box scores and game accounts, which tend to overlook defensive
efforts had to be used. The proper implementation of this system requires
attendance at the game. However, the results obtained have merit.
Here are the 2000 MVP's:
(APP is the number of games in which the player was named either 1st, 2nd
or 3rd MVP.)
American League:
APP First Name Last Name
Team TOTAL
36 JASON GIAMBI
OAK 69.67
40 MIKE SWEENEY
KC 65.21
24 PEDRO MARTINEZ
BOS 64.00
33 FRANK THOMAS
WSOX 63.00
29 MO VAUGHN
ANA 57.00
33 BERNIE WILLIAMS
NYY 55.17
29 MANNY RAMIREZ
CLE 53.26
29 ALEX RODRIGUEZ
SEA 53.08
31 CARL EVERETT
BOS 52.78
31 JIM THOME
CLE 52.26
27 BOB HIGGINSON
DET 52.13
31 TONY BATISTA
TOR 51.92
28 NOMAR
GARCIAPARRA BOS
51.32
19 MIKE MUSSINA
BAL 51.00
22 DAVID WELLS
TOR 51.00
29 DARIN ERSTAD
ANA 50.50
30 FRED MCGRIFF
TBAY 50.08
27 CARLOS DELGADO TOR
49.25
30 MIGUEL TEJADA
OAK 48.75
32 DAVID JUSTICE
CLE/NYY48.33
28 MAGGLIO ORDONEZ WSOX
48.08
28 TROY GLAUS
ANA 48.00
17 ANDY PETTITTE
NYY 47.00
30 RAFAEL PALMEIRO
TEX 46.92
19 ROGER CLEMENS
NYY 46.50
19 BARTOLO COLON
CLE 46.50
National League:
APP First Name Last Name
Team TOTAL
39 TODD HELTON
COL 84.00
37 SAMMY SOSA
CUBS 74.50
32 JIM EDMONDS
STL 71.50
37 BARRY BONDS
SF 69.50
36 VLADIMIR GUERRERO MTL
66.50
31 PRESTON WILSON
FLA 66.00
33 JEFF KENT
SF 62.00
28 ERIC KARROS
LA 61.00
28 KEN GRIFFEY
CIN 60.50
28 JEFF CIRILLO
COL 59.00
25 GREG MADDUX
ATL 58.00
32 ANDRUW JONES
ATL 58.00
31 BRIAN GILES
PIT 57.50
26 RANDY JOHNSON
ARZ 57.50
32 JEFF BAGWELL
HOU 57.00
34 CHIPPER JONES
ATL 57.00
30 CLIFF FLOYD
FLA 56.00
29 GARY SHEFFIELD
LA 55.00
26 ANDRES GALARRAGA ATL
53.00
28 MIKE PIAZZA
NYM 53.00
29 LUIS GONZALEZ
ARZ 53.00
33 GEOFF JENKINS
MIL 53.00
27 SCOTT ROLEN
PHI 51.50
29 STEVE FINLEY
ARZ 51.33
25 JEFFREY HAMMONDS COL
51.00
19 DARRYL KILE
STL 51.00
22 TOM GLAVINE
ATL 51.00
@@@@@@@@@@
Want to make some easy money? Check out www.NetFlip.com/personalReferFC.jsp?rei=852271
@@@@@@@@@@
Reader Response
Let's Get Real by Ryan J. Hines
I don't want to overly bash Joe Torre here. I personally like the man and
think he is a good manager. I understand that his team just won the World
Series, so it is right to give him kudos for a job done, but I think that your
articles go a little too far in placing credit where creditisn't exactly due.
On another note, I am a Red Sox fan so this kind of Yankee bashing comes easily
to me, but I don't want to bash them too much, they were clearly the superior
team in the series, and have been the best team in baseball for years now.
But Joe Torre’s job was not all that difficult this season, in my eyes.
To keep the players hungry for a title? That more comes naturally
to the players in my view, especially players like Bernie Williams, who I think
is easily the most underrated player on the Yankees, and yes I must say Derek
Jeter. These players sleep and eat baseball; they are always hungry, because it
is their job to be hungry.
Perhaps if Steinbrenner had not gone out and traded for David Justice, Torre’s
job would have been a little harder. A hard managing job is filling a spot
with a bunch of no-names, and getting them, usually by committee to put up good
numbers for that position. The pitching staff has a few injuries, and a
few people are not performing as expected, so Steinbrenner once again goes out
and gets him Denny Neagle. Now I know this argument that the Yankees buy
all their people is getting as hackneyed asthe curse of the bambino is to
me. Iti s valid in some lights though.
All in all I think Torre should be credited for not messing this season up, and
the team almost did that the last month of the season. That is all I have
to say about Joe Torre, he is a good manager, solid, but he should be given
credit for not messing up more than for doing anything extraordinary. He
also should be given credit for out-managing Bobby Valentine in the Series.
But anything more than that, in my opinionis a little over the top.
One more note, on the statement that Derek Jeter put to bed the whole “who is
the best shortstop in the majors issue.” Hardly in my view. Each
shortstop brings their talents. If one is judging from a strict bottom
line of winning, then I would say that yes, Jeter is the best in the
majors. But, if one is judging purely from numbers, then perhaps Alex
Rodriguez or Nomar Garciaparra has a leg up on Jeter. If one is judging
from the point of fielding, then I think Nomar is clearly the best fielder of
the three. Once again Jeter is a great shortstop, one of the top three in
baseball, but its nice to imagine how much better the Yankees would be if they
had so Rodriguez in their lineup, a more explosive hitter than Jeter.
*Got some random thoughts or one-liners? Send them in to
baseballreport@aol.com.
@@@@@@@@@@
Check out Shop
StoreSearch Now! You won't be dissappointed! It's not an ad
site - you literally can find anything on the web through this site!
@@@@@@@@@@
Questions
&
Answers
Questions
& Answers will return next issue!
*To submit a question, email baseballreport@aol.com, subject question
@@@@@@@@@@
Looking for something unique? Stop by sharperimage.com
and let your imagination loose!
@@@@@@@@@@
TRIVIA QUESTION
Last
Issue: The New York Yankees have now won 4 out of 5 World
Championships. How many players
on the 2000 Championship team were a member of the 1996 Championship team, and
who were they?
Answer(s): (submitted by daisypart3@aol.com)
In alphabetical order: David Cone,
Derek Jeter, Tino Martinez, Jeff Nelson, Paul O'Neill, Andy Pettitte, Mariano
Rivera, Louis Sojo, and Bernie Williams.
This Issue's Question: Which Yankees on the 2000 WS Roster
were on the 1995 Playoff Roster?
To answer, email baseballreport@aol.com subject trivia answer.
To submit a question to be asked, email baseballreport@aol.com subject trivia
question.
Leaderboard:
choirboy75@aol.com - 4
YankeeBuzz@aol.com - 3
Daisypart3@aol.com - 1
jmlenn@aol.com - 1
lsk@sas.upenn.edu - 1
nutz1_98@yahoo.com - 1
paboco@aol.com - 1
@@@@@@@@@@
Get some free coffee!
http://www.commission-junction.com/track/track.dll?AID=805949&PID=400620&URL=http%3A%2F%2Fwww%2Ecoupongiants%2Ecom%2Ffreecoffee%2Ehtm
@@@@@@@@@@
Email baseballreport@aol.com with any comments, suggestions, or opinions you
may have.
That's all for this issue.
Till next time,
Michael Frankel
Editor-in-Chief
Feel free to forward this to anyone and everyone.
copyright 2000 The Baseball Report