For a guy who has total knowledge of how a player performs, how they stack up against history, what they ingest, how they react to situations, it's hard to imagine that Scott Boras doesn't have a part in what is transpiring in baseball today. I was going to look this morning, after a storm woke me up at 4:30am, at the number of clients Boras represents who have been legitimately tied to PEDs. But the NY Daily News' Michael O'Keeffe beat me to it. Here's the list:
Manny Ramirez
Barry Bonds
Kevin Brown (used Boras' HQ as a return address for cash sent to purchase HGH)
Eric Gagne
Scott Schoeneweis
Rick Ankiel
Ron Villone
Ivan Rodriguez (only linked through Canseco's book, "Juiced." Though that seems to be pretty reliable)
Gary Sheffield
And one more guy...who was it? Crap, what was his name...Oh yeah,
Alex Rodriguez.
As much as I hate to say it, there's a disclaimer. In November 2007 it was reported that Boras represented 65 Major League players and "about that many" Minor Leaguers. With that many clients, Boras is going to have a higher percentage of players who are linked to, or test positive for, PEDs. But the influence of Scott Boras should not be ignored. Now, of Boras' current clientele, are there any Astros?
Short answer: One - Pudge.
Former Astros include Carlos Beltran, Ron Villone, David Newhan.
We didn't come out here to play tiddlywinks, son.
-Hal Smith
