In the Batter's Box With the Agent to the Stars

Feb. 23, 2007— -- In order for baseball to make headlines in the off season, it usually requires a scandal or, in some cases, scandalous amounts of money.

It was the latter case in San Francisco, when the Giants announced they would make Barry Zito the highest-paid pitcher in history at a pay rate of nearly $500,000 per game.

In another watershed moment in Boston, the Red Sox signed Daisuke Matsuzaka. Though he's never thrown a Major League pitch, the team paid his Japanese team $51 million just to talk to him, and another $52 million to sign him.

These two, along with Alex Rodriguez, Carlos Beltran, Greg Maddux, Kenny Rogers, Adrian Beltre and 55 other elite Major Leaguers share something besides a tax bracket. All are clients of agent Scott Boras. In the picture to the left, he's the one in a really nice suit, with the really big smile.

When asked if he'd be just as successful selling cars, he responded, "I'm not a salesman, no."

He bristles at the comparison, insisting he is purely a baseball attorney. Even the word "agent," and all its Hollywood imagery, stemming from the hit film "Jerry Maguire," makes him uncomfortable.

But some baseball writers attach more caustic labels to Boras, including "pimp" and "shill," or "The Most Hated Man in Baseball." To many, he is the devil on the shoulder of superstars, convincing them to abandon their loyal fans and sell their souls to the highest bidder.

Boras says, unlike his clients, he's rarely cheered.

"I always tell them [the fans], look, it's the player's decision. We really work for them. I'm not sure they ever believe that because I don't think they choose to blame the players. They choose to blame me, and that's fine."

All Boras, the son of a farmer, ever wanted to do was play baseball. But he blew out his knee in the Minors, went to law school and spent a couple of years defending drug companies.

After helping a former teammate land a decent contract, he changed paths and changed the game. With audacious demands and relentless negotiation, he is a big reason player salaries have gone up more than tenfold in 20 years. His cut has made him a very wealthy man.