Baseball super-agent Scott Boras continues to raise the bar in athlete representation.
By Clara Beard
When sports agent Scott Boras isn’t representing some of baseball’s biggest names, such as Bryce Harper, Gerrit Cole and Juan Soto—whose record-breaking 15-year, $765 million contract with the New York Mets made headlines recently—you might find him at Gulfstream in Newport Beach, lamenting the loss of his favorite menu item.
“I go there all the time. It’s one of my favorite spots,” Boras says. “If I can get them, through this article, to bring back the tuna copia they serve for lunch, that would be incredible.”
Since relocating to Newport in 1986, Sacramento-born Boras has become an integral part of the community. The former ballplayer turned “super-agent” is not only a regular at Gulfstream but also a part-owner of two well-known fine dining establishments in Newport Beach: The Cannery and Louie’s by the Bay, in partnership with the renowned Southern California restaurateur Ron Salisbury.
Boras and his wife moved to Newport Beach three years after he negotiated a $7.5 million deal for his former minor league teammate, Bill Caudill—one of the largest in baseball history at that time. Shortly after, the success of his negotiation skills as an agent led the University of the Pacific law and pharmacy school graduate to leave his Chicago firm and pursue a full-time career as a baseball agent. Newport, he says, was an obvious choice for several reasons.
“My wife’s family lived out here, and I travel a lot, so I just needed to be close to at least three ballparks,” Boras recalls. “When I lived in Chicago, I had Milwaukee and the two teams from Chicago. And here in California, we have the Angels, Dodgers, Padres, Giants and A’s. This was how I chose to live here. I picked Newport, which is right in the middle of the LA and San Diego franchises. And, of course, the Angels are also right here. It’s really an ideal destination for someone who does what I do.”
Previously a ballplayer in college—where his roommate was Pete Carroll, who would become a legendary football coach—Boras’ nagging injuries brought an early end to what was shaping up to be a promising career for the young infielder. After four years in the minor leagues with the Cardinals and Cubs organizations and three knee operations, Boras hung up his cleats permanently in 1977 with a career batting average of .288.
After moving to Newport Beach to create the blueprint behind the corporation Forbes magazine has dubbed “the most valuable single-sport agency in the world,” Boras also kept his sights close to home. In 2003, he was involved in the construction of JSerra, a co-ed independent private Catholic high school in San Juan Capistrano. The school has a highly competitive athletic program that, of course, includes baseball.
“My sons went to school there, and I take great pride in its baseball program,” Boras says. “My charity, the Boras Baseball Classic, has been hosted at JSerra and Mater Dei since 2013. We also organize it in Northern California [and] Arizona. … It’s a weeklong tournament that showcases the best high school players in front of college coaches and scouts to help advance their careers, secure scholarships and, for those who are worthy of pro baseball, to pursue that path. We’ve been doing this for just over 10 years now, all in our Newport Beach area.”
Another unique aspect of the Boras Baseball Classic? It’s all free. Boras says his family’s foundation, run by his brother Gerry, organizes the event and hires scouts, college recruiters and coaches. The foundation also covers the travel and food costs of high school teams during the multiday tourney.
“Due to California’s split CIF structure, which lacks a northern and southern championship game, we created a format where the winner of the northern section of the Boras Classic competes against around 60 of the top high schools from both Southern and Northern California. They then come together for a championship game that is televised on ESPN3.”
This year, the Boras Baseball Classic South will take place March 25-28 at JSerra and Mater Dei high schools, the latter having won the 2024 southern title.
Painting the Corners
Creating opportunities for young players’ talent to be noticed by scouts and college recruiters is part and parcel of Boras’ ethos as a baseball agent. Harkening back to his days as a minor league prospect, he says his first visit to spring training was an industry eye-opener into the world of professional baseball.
“Someone is actually paying you to play baseball,” Boras recalls. “It felt like a dream come true. But then you go to spring training and see 45 to 50 guys getting released. Maybe [they] … got hurt or their skills just didn’t advance as projected. They have children, and they have wives. They have rusted-out vans. Most of the time, they get released and don’t see it coming. You look at it and think, ‘I didn’t see the bad side of things.’ In the four or five years that I played, I watched it happen all the time.”
The somber reality of the behind-the-scenes sacrifices to make it to “The Show.” The former infielder says he struggled watching so many athletes forfeit their education and career opportunities, knowing that reaching the Major Leagues was already a long shot for many.
“When you’re the best player in your hometown, and the coaches have always come and picked you up and said ‘you’re the best,’ you kind of have that feeling,” Boras says. “But only when you arrive in spring training do you see the world of baseball come to you. You realize, ‘Oh, this is very, very different than what I thought, competitively.’ Our job is to bring that appraisal and that evaluation to families. You say ‘no’ 10 times more than you say ‘‘yes’ in our job.”
For that reason, not only does Boras emphasize the importance of education and career planning to his clients and their families, but he remains a fiduciary for his players when and if they enter into contract negotiations with professional teams. It’s his exclusive focus on baseball, and skills as a lawyer, that set Boras apart from the others in his field, who might represent myriad athletes from more than one sport.
“Your job is to make sure you’re doing what’s best for your client,” Boras notes. “I take that credo to heart. A great labor attorney once told me, ‘If 95% of what’s said about you is negative, you know you’re representing your client correctly.’ That’s a great reminder for me. The same applies to the players. Sometimes, you have to say things they don’t want to hear, and they may terminate the relationship, but ultimately, I’m still acting as a fiduciary.”
Acting as a fiduciary for around 175 professional baseball clients has not always made the Boras Corp. a beloved name in the sport (especially among some team owners and fans), but it has made him a trailblazer when it comes to athlete representation. Boras’ extensive laundry list of groundbreaking deals, including Juan Soto’s recent contract with the Mets, has projected him to almost mythical levels in the industry.
When asked which specific deals or moments stand out to the more than 40-year industry veteran, Boras lists household names like Tustin-native Gerrit Cole (who played alongside Boras’ son growing up), eight-time All-Star Bryce Harper, and Soto, whose contract is the largest in professional sports—the list goes on. But what really matters, he says, is sharing the joy of accomplishment with his clients and their families.
“When you secure them, and you’re at the press conference, the contracts are all done and you get that hug from a player, it’s a feeling you just never get tired of,” Boras says.
Now, if only he could get that tuna copia back on the menu.
