Grand Slam: The Business of Baseball with Scott Boras

In conversation with hosts Michael Goldstein & Ken Davidoff, Scott Boras, legendary MLB agent and founder of Boras Corporation, offers an insider perspective on the business of baseball and explores the deep connection between sports and business. Below are edited highlights of the conversation.

Michael: Let’s start with an overall current assessment of the business of baseball from your POV.

Scott: Our commissioner has announced that we, again, have record revenue and attendance. Our media rights, for whatever reason, are not to the level of leagues that play half as many games or less. And that’s a part of our game that needs review.

I think having great young players in the game and seeing parity, with different teams in the World Series, has helped us accomplish a lot of things that other sports do not. In a talent driven world, we’re fortunate to have a lot of great players, both veteran and young, and I think that’s what’s drawing interest.

Ken: Big recent news was ESPN opting out of their deal after 2025 and seeing a lot of smaller teams having issues with their regional sports networks. Do you see a clear path, whether streaming or elsewhere, to recoup these revenues and approve upon them?

Scott: We had another sport that plays less games and has lesser ratings, receive a larger TV contract because they negotiated their media rights collectively and in a manner that caught the value of what sports programing and content is worth.

We (baseball) developed the streaming hardware and sold the rights to external entities, which became the cancer of cable. So, ironically, this has led to a situation where we have antiquated cable contracts.

So, essentially, we have a league with twice the content and higher ratings. Future negotiations should register vastly more revenue, assuming that our negotiating and representation standard is utilizing past practices by the content seekers, the platforms, and what their advertisers are receiving or paying for them, and that should be very, very helpful to baseball going forward.

Ken: When you’re pitching a superstar like Juan Soto, how global do you get when talking to teams about return-on-investment opportunities or is it focused on what Juan brings to the field or clubhouse?

Scott: I think the term pitching is for someone who has a product that they’re bringing to people. In our business, we represent talent. We have 30 vendors that are coming to us. So, we don’t do a lot of pitching. We do a lot of listening and understanding, and we do things to optimize our players.

In the case of Juan Soto, the biggest issue for people to understand is what a brilliant information taker he is.

I had 68 meetings with Juan between when we began and the time he signed with the Mets. And all that time he had to talk about market proliferation, appreciative values of franchises, media rights, the value of talent & age, surplus values. He had all these metrics to deal with, and it was our job as negotiators to show his value.

And part of that value is when you’re talking about proximity-based revenues. Atlanta is making 300, 400 million dollars above expenses a year. 60%-80% of that is from proximity-based revenues that don’t have to be revenue shared per the CBA (collective bargaining agreement).

The question there is, how can these proximity-based revenue sources be maximized by having superstar talent? That’s one area that’s highly valuable to teams.

Michael: What is your take on the current state of technology in Major League Baseball and where is it going?

Scott: We have our own company of 30 people that are designed to grow and build our databases. These are highly accomplished scientists, engineers, economists.

We have our own prioritized value system; we don’t particularly agree with the WAR system. There is some commonality to it, but our methods of measuring player value are much more compartmentalized than comprehensive.

We’re always trying to find out why the best is the best. What makes them the best? How can we optimize their skill and appraise it at earlier ages?

Technology allows us to really illustrate the valuations of our clients and the reasoning behind it, which also gives the players the confidence to endure slumps and overcome performance deficits.

Ken: What do you think baseball should do for its biggest stage; the World Series?

Scott: Baseball is suited for a World Series Week. You can provide live content from not just one game, but five, six, seven games during that week.

The Super Bowl is not about football. It’s about corporate business interaction and entertainment. It’s a festival.

Everyone is desirous of a forum where they can treat employees, introduce or market a new business. Probably only 30% of people (at the Super Bowl) actually attend the game.

I sent a letter to (former MLB commissioner) Bud Selig in 2002 saying that we need a World Series week so that businesses and fans can go to experience it.

We could have this amazing international event. We can invite musicians, have a true Home Run Derby, and a gala for our awards. We could honor the MVPs and Si Young winner honored in front of a World Series crowd. We can do all of that. It would be the Oscars of baseball at World Series week, with cities bidding for it.

Michael: How much are you talking about tickets, thinking about tickets with tickets, dealing with tickets on a daily and weekly basis?

Scott: Tickets are far from just tickets. They’re access to something that someone wants to see and be a part of. So, tickets are very personal. They’re a part of you.

What we try to do is collaborate with a variety of people that allow us to exchange or barter tickets to create those moments for our clients.

Quick Hitter Questions

Michael: You’ve attended thousands of MLB games. Which one ranks as your favorite of all time?

Scott: It’s the first one, where a scout for the Cincinnati Reds took me to meet my hero, Willie Mayes, who is the greatest baseball player I’ve ever seen.

The other parts of that are when you see players you represent win that World Series. In San Diego, Bertie Williams gave me a big hug. Watching Corey Seager win the World Championship. To have this job and to enjoy the greatest of moments with players is a privilege.

Michael: What is your favorite ballpark and why?

Scott: The San Francisco ballpark overlooks the bay and the Bay Bridge. Pittsburgh’s venue is really something to behold.