Back in March, I wrote about Cleveland Indians’ outfielder Shin-Soo Choo switching from Octagon to Scott Boras, and his impending service in the South Korean Army.  As a South Korean-native, the 28-year old Choo was slated to spend two years in the national Army before reaching 30.  However, after winning the gold medal in last week’s Asian Games with his national team, South Korea has rewarded Choo by rescinding his military requirement.

The Indians and Boras are definitely winners alongside Choo in this decision.  Shin-Soo is one of the Indians best talents, and his stock is certainly rising.  Last year Choo hit .300 and 90 RBIs (top 15 in the American League in both), and 22 homeruns and stolen bases.  Indians manager Manny Acta called Choo “one of the best players in the majors right now.” For Boras, taking the risk that one of his rising stars will have to spend two years in the military, away from the game, has paid off.  Unlike many other Asian players, Choo did not play professional baseball outside the United States.  After being selected as the MVP in the 2000 World Junior Baseball Championship, Choo signed a contract with Seattle Mariners.

New Indians GM Chris Antonetti has said that working out a long-term deal for Choo is a team priority.  Choo made $461,100 last season, and is eligible for salary arbitration before the start of the 2011 season.  His contract has three more years left on it, but Boras will certainly work to get a substantial raise for his client via arbitration, and look towards a lucrative, possibly long-term deal for Choo.

Choo Staying For Good, Boras Wins Out from Sports Agent Blog - Sports Business, Sports Law, Sports Negotiations, NCAA Rules

The NCAA became interested in the matter.  A University of Kentucky employee basically told Paxton that he would have to sit out from playing and would lose his financial aid if he refused to meet with NCAA investigators for a violation that the NCAA would not disclose.  Paxton held his ground, and ended up playing a year of Independent Baseball prior to being selected by the Seattle Mariners in the 2010 First-Year Player Draft.  Paxton still has not signed with the Mariners, but he is unaffected by the August 16 deadline, and has until a week prior to next year’s draft to come to an agreement with the club.

The main reason that I am discussing this matter is because of something I recently read in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

Pirates general manager Neal Huntington and scouting director Greg Smith were among the Pirates representatives expected to sit down with agents Randy and Alan Hendricks in Houston to work toward a deal to sign second-overall selection Jameson Taillon. The Hendricks brothers are based in Houston, and Taillon comes from The Woodlands about 25 miles north.

Internet reports intimated that a deal was reached already, but the parties involved wouldn’t attempt to meet in private if such reports were based in fact.

Does it not sound as if the Post-Gazette is implying that the Hendricks brothers negotiated directly with the Pirates?  How is this any less conclusive than what The Globe and Mail wrote about Boras and Beeston?  The fact of the matter is that in this case, it has no consequence.  Tallion signed for a $6.5 million bonus, so it does not matter whether the Hendricks brothers were considered advisors or agents – Tallion is skipping school for the time being and will never attempt to play college baseball.

But what if the Pirates had caught wind of the article?  Might the club have used it against Tallion as leverage in their negotiation?  That is probably a stretch, and way too competitive of a negotiation style to use against someone you want to be the future face of your franchise.

Another point to note is that just because a couple papers have reported about two distinct events does not mean that advisors talking to club personnel is a rarity.  It is just rarely reported.  My guess is that a majority, if not all advisors of players selected in the first round of the 2010 First-Year Player Draft, had some sort of direct communication with the teams that selected their clients.  The NCAA might want to think otherwise and continue to threaten its antiquated “no-agent” rule, but in the end, the players need competent assistance, and there are very few advisors who would deny that to them.

The Continuance Of Advisor/Club Communication from Sports Agent Blog - Sports Business, Sports Law, Sports Negotiations, NCAA Rules

Basketball

• “Once, during his [Rick Rickert's] first season of professional basketball in Europe, fans of a team in Belgrade, Serbia, chucked darts at his head”…what?!?! [GLOBETROTTIN': It can still have its quirks, but playing pro basketball abroad is no longer considered a last resort.]
• So much for taking that memo seriously [UConn memo dealt with Nochimson].

Football

• Not surprised that he cares so much about character [Ask the Expert: NFL Agent Mark Slough].
• Yeah, about representing yourself in major contractual negotiations.. [Self-representation backfires on Johnson].
• “Of the 65 players who took part in the Broadcast Boot Camp from 2007-2009, 28 have already earned broadcasting jobs” [NFL offers fourth annual “Broadcast Boot Camp”].

Sports Agents

• I’m upset that I’m not in this tournament!…then again, I’m not from Dallas [Sports Agent Trennis Jones Doesn’t Want to Let Down Mom in Words With Friends Tournament].
• Some notable athletes on this list [LEEINKS LIST: ATHLETES WITHOUT AGENTS].
• Hating on Rosenhaus for his initial interest rate [Sports Agent Rosenhaus Scores Mortgage].

Shabbat Shalom: Friday Wrap-Up (6/11/2010) from Sports Agent Blog - Sports Business, Sports Law, Sports Negotiations, NCAA Rules

1. Bryce Harper (Washington Nationals) – Boras Corp. – Interesting to note that Bud Selig referred to Harper as an outfielder even though he has played mostly catcher his entire life.  Get this kid on the fast track through the Minors.
2. Jameson Tallion (Pittsburgh Pirates) – Hendricks Sports Management – Big high school arm clocked as high as 99 mph.
3. Manny Machado (Baltimore Orioles) – Boras Corp. - Hard to see Machado passing up signing to go play at Florida International University.  Interesting that FIU is his college commitment.
4. Christian Colon (Kansas City Royals) – Boras Corp. – Yesterday, I had reported that the Royals wanted to sign Yasmani Grandal.  Perhaps his price tag was too high.
5. Drew Pomeranz (Cleveland Indians) - Beverly Hills Sports Council – He was drafted in the 12th round out of high school.
6. Barret Loux (Arizona Diamondbacks) – SFX – Jumped up boards a lot recently.
7. Matt Harvey (New York Mets) – Boras Corp. – 4th Boras client selected in the top 7 picks.
8. Delino Deshields Jr. (Houston Astros) – Wasserman Media Group
9. Karsten Whitson (San Diego Padres) - SFX – Committed to my alma mater, the University of Florida.
10. Michael Choice (Oakland Athletics) – Franklin-Frye Sports – Went undrafted out of high school.
11. Deck McGuire (Toronto Blue Jays) – SFX – Also undrafted out of high school.
12. Yasmani Grandal (Cincinnati Reds) – Legacy Sports Group – Slipped because of signability issues.
13. Chris Sale (Chicago White Sox) – Jet Sports Management – Didn’t play at a major school (Florida Gulf Coast University), but put up great numbers there and played very well in Cape Cod last summer.
14. Dylan Covey (Milwaukee Brewers) – Wasserman Media Group
15. Jake Skole (Texas Rangers) – Unknown – Won’t be compensated if they don’t sign this pick (most likely why Skole was taken here).
16. Hayden Simpson (Chicago Cubs) - Hendricks Sports Management – Great numbers this past year in Division II baseball.
17. Josh Sale (Tampa Bay Rays) – Creative Artists Agency – Don’t worry, different advisors than the people at CAA who have to worry about where LeBron will play.
18. Kaleb Cowart (Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim) – SFX – Boras Corp. has higher drafted clients, but at this point of the draft, SFX and Boras tied in number of players picked.
19. Michael Foltynewicz (Houston Astros) – Octagon
20. Kolbrin Vitek (Boston Red Sox) – Pro Star Management - Joe Bick also represents Kevin Youkilis, one of my favorite players.
21. Alex Wimmers (Minnesota Twins) – ACES – Undrafted out of high school.
22. Kellin Deglan (Texas Rangers) – Double Diamond Sports Management – Canadian catcher committed to Florida International University with Manny Machado.
23. Christian Yelich (Florida Marlins) – Creative Artists Agency – Committed to the University of Miami, so he will be in the state of Florida no matter what.
24. Gary Brown (San Francisco Giants) – Boras Corp. – And Boras re-gains the lead in clients selected with a total of 5 at this point.
25. Zack Cox (St. Louis Cardinals) – SFX – A draft-eligible sophomore.
26. Kyle Parker (Colorado Rockies) – Career Sports Entertainment – Also the quarterback for Clemson.  Will be a tough sign.
27. Jesse Biddle (Philadelphia Phillies) – Sosnick & Cobbe – Matt Sosnick represents some big time pitchers; add this stud to the list.
28. Zach Lee (Los Angeles Dodgers) – Unknown – Committed to play football at LSU. Queue the signability discussion.
29. Cam Bedrosian (Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim) – ACES
30. Chevez Clarke (Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim) – ACES – 2 ACES clients drafted in a row, and a total of 3 ACES clients taken in the first round.
31. Justin O’Connor (Tampa Bay Rays) – SFX – Committed to Arkansas.
32. Cito Culver (New York Yankees) – SFX

Comp Round A

1. Mike Kvasnicka (Houston Astros) – Sterling Sports Management
2. Aaron Sanchez (Toronto Blue Jays) – West Coast Sports
3. Matthew Lipka (Atlanta Braves) – Franklin-Frye Sports
4. Bryce Brentz (Boston Red Sox) – Jet Sports Management
5. Taylor Lindsey (Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim) – Unknown
6. Noah Syndergaard (Toronto Blue Jays) – Xclusive Sports Management
7. Anthony Ranaudo (Boston Red Sox) – Boras Corp.
8. Ryan Bolden (Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim) – ACES
9. Asher Wojciechowski (Toronto Blue Jays) - SFX
10. Drew Vettleson (Tampa Bay Rays) – Creative Artists Agency
11. Taijuan Walker (Seattle Mariners) – Reynolds Sports Management
12. Nick Castellanos (Detroit Tigers) – SportsMeter
13. Luke Jackson (Texas Rangers) – Unknown
14. Seth Blair (St. Louis Cardinals) – Boras Corp.
15. Peter Tago (Colorado Rockies) – Wasserman Media Group
16. Chance Ruffin (Detroit Tigers) – Unknown
17. Mike Olt (Texas Rangers) – Wasserman Media Group
18. Tyrell Jenkins (St. Louis Cardinals) – Select Sports Group

The MLB Draft Day 1 Broken Down from Sports Agent Blog - Sports Business, Sports Law, Sports Negotiations, NCAA Rules

• The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim have 3 first round picks, 2 supplemental first round picks, and 1 supplemental third round pick, in addition to their normal second and third round picks.  That gives the club 8 picks in the first three rounds.  That’s a lot to get excited about; however, they do not pick until #18 overall, and the organization’s 2 other first round picks are at #29 and #30.
• The Toronto Blue Jays also have a slew of picks.  They only have 1 first round pick, but have 2 supplemental first round picks, 3 second round picks, and a supplemental third round pick in addition to their normal third round pick.  That gives them the same amount of picks through three rounds as the Angels.
• The Seattle Mariners are thin through the first three rounds.  They lost their first round pick to the aforementioned Angels (after signing Chone Figgins), and do not have any supplemental picks.  The Mariners better find some value in their second and third round picks.

See anything in the draft order that should also be pointed out?

Potential Winners And Losers In The 2010 MLB Draft from Sports Agent Blog - Sports Business, Sports Law, Sports Negotiations, NCAA Rules

Guess who represents #1, #2, and #3 overall.  Scott Boras.  John McGrath of the News Tribune thinks that at least Ackley might be hurting himself by holding out until the deadline.  He wrote,

Either way, Ackley’s fast track to the bigs is in peril of losing momentum. This is too bad, because if ever there were a team in position to give a college player the keys to the car – and the freedom to put his pedal foot to the floor, without adhering to a speed limit – it’s the Seattle Mariners.

For elite talents with college experience, good things can happen in a hurry. Troy Tulowitzki (Rockies), Ryan Braun (Brewers) and Evan Longoria (Rays) needed between 10 months and a year to reach the big leagues after signing. None of these guys, it might be noted, held out. It also might be noted that none was represented by Boras.

But will a month and change really affect Ackley that much?  I believe good things may still come his way even if he delays his appearance in Rookie Ball for another month or so.  What if Ackley doesn’t end up making it to the big leagues in a year?  The signing bonus is what he will be surviving on.  For all we know, Ackley could step on a crack in a sidewalk on August 18th and break his leg (G-d forbid).  The signing bonus is the only thing guaranteed for these guys.

Top 3 Picks Of MLB Draft Are Playing The Waiting Game from Sports Agent Blog - Sports Business, Sports Law, Sports Negotiations, NCAA Rules

Previously, I wrote a piece on attendance clauses in contracts of professional sports players. Recently, a story broke which touched upon my analysis.

In Ken Griffey Jr’s contract with the Seattle Mariners, there is a clause which will pay Griff a hefty $1.25 million bonus if he is able to maintain last season’s statistics and shove in 259 more fans at home games. Well, the Wall Street Journal has reported that this season, attendance is down! What effect will this have on Griffey?

It will potentially shave $450,000 off of his contract bonus. One more interesting piece of brain food is that the median salary in the city of Seattle is $45,000. Maybe the economy has something to do with this.

Way to Go, Griffey from Sports Agent Blog - Sports Business, Sports Law, Sports Negotiations, NCAA Rules

For Immediate Release

Dynasty Grows To Seven Baseball Clients, With Two In The Mariners Organization

Gainesville, FL – [February 3, 2009], Dynasty Athlete Representation, LLC is proud to announce the expansion of its Baseball Division to seven signed clients with the addition of Nick Czyz.  Czyz was drafted by the Seattle Mariners in 2008 and just finished his first season with the Divisional Champion, Pulaski Mariners.

Nick Czyz had a very impressive first year within the Seattle Mariners organization.  Besides leading his team to a Division Championship, Czyz was named MVP of Pulaski’s Starting Pitching staff by Scott Sepich of Scout.com.  In fourteen games and 57.1 innings of work, he had a 6-5 record and struck out 54 batters.

Czyz went to high school at Blue Valley West in his hometown of Overland Park, Kansas before accepting a scholarship to the University of Kansas.  One of the most memorable moments in his young baseball career came in his freshman year, where he started in the Big XII Tournament championship and picked up the win.  Even though Czyz has experienced a ton of success on the field, he is committed to being an educated person outside of baseball.  He is currently finishing up his college degree majoring in Economics with a minor in Business.

All of us at Dynasty welcome Czyz to the family.

Contact:
Darren Heitner, CEO
Dynasty Athlete Representation, LLC
954-558-6999
dheitner@dynastyreps.com

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Dynasty Grows To Seven Baseball Clients, With Two In The Mariners Organization from Sports Agent Blog - Sports Business, Sports Law, Sports Negotiations, NCAA Rules

Tommy Johnson On The Radio Tonight from Sports Agent Blog - Sports Business, Sports Law, Sports Negotiations, NCAA Rules

For Immediate Release

Dynasty Thunders Ahead In Building Its Baseball Division

Gainesville, FL – [December 10, 2008], Dynasty Athlete Representation, LLC began with one baseball and one bowling client.  Today, the company is proud to have thirteen of the top PBA bowlers and six talented young baseball players making their way up the ranks of their respective organizations.  The latest pickup: Tommy Johnson.

Tommy Johnson is a 5’11 215 lbs catcher, born in Gaithersburg, MD.

Tommy was a four year starting catcher at Marshall University (WV) and a 27th round pick of the Seattle Mariners in the 2008 MLB Draft.  Johnson helped the Thundering Herd to a school record 30 wins in 2008.  In March 2008, he was selected to the 2008 Coleman Company-Johnny Bench Award watch list. In his first year with the Seattle Mariners organization, Johnson hit .345 for the Rookie league Pulaski Mariners (led the team in batting average).

Tommy is the first client for newly hired baseball agent, Bryan Swalley.  Swalley joins the Dynasty team after serving as a former minor league baseball player and scout.  Additionally, he is currently the Assistant Director of Contracts for Goodwill Industries.  Bryan is certified as an athlete agent in the state of West Virginia and hopes to bring a lot more to the Dynasty family in the future.

Contact:
Darren Heitner, CEO
Dynasty Athlete Representation, LLC
954-558-6999
dheitner@dynastyreps.com

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Dynasty Thunders Ahead In Building Its Baseball Division from Sports Agent Blog - Sports Business, Sports Law, Sports Negotiations, NCAA Rules