A long time ago I learned a very valuable thing about scouting. Never turn your back on an 80 tool. Some people prefer statistics over tools but not me. I have always been a tools guy. You have to be careful sometimes that you don’t get too enamored with a prospects tools but nine times out of ten I am the kind of guy that chooses naturally ability ahead of anything else. I don’t believe it’s a question of right and wrong and so far it has worked for me in my career but I wanted to talk about a situation in which I was rewarded for my steadfast belief in a players tools.
Back in 2007 I was watching a high school show case called the Diamond Club. It’s an event in Florida where scouts invite top prospects to compete against each other over the course of a few days. While at the showcase I found a kid who was arguably the most insanely athletic player I have ever seen play baseball. This kid had comic book like tools. It wasn’t like I was watching Steve Nebraska that day, but I’m telling you, I may never see a kid this athletically gifted again the rest of my career. He was 6’4 and ran like the wind, he had a strong arm and showed really good hitting instincts. This was a guy.
It’s always exciting discovering a new prospect. I feel one of the advantages I have in this field is my ability to independently evaluate talent. Some agents rely on scouts and some even hire scouts to find players for them because they lack the ability to determine a players ultimate value. I am beyond fortunate that I don’t have to rely on anyone other than myself to scout players. The fact that I can scout does not mean I don’t talk to other people in the game to get their input on certain players and it doesn’t mean that I’m right far more than I’m wrong but what it does do for me is provide a slight edge on some of the competition. When you represent a player you have to know what you’re selling. You have to know your product better than anyone else because you’re making a long term commitment that will cost you ample time and money, so you better be damn sure you know what you’re getting yourself into and lucky for me, I usually do.
So, in 2007, I found Jiwan James at the Florida Diamond Club. I was able to see him at several more showcases that season. I believe I saw him in Fort Myers and Jupiter at perfect game events in addition to seeing him play one final time in the state all star game held in Sebring Florida. We spoke with Jiwans family during the year and mailed him information about our company in hopes of being retained as the families advisor. One of the things I learned that year about Jiwan was that he wasn’t just an outfielder, he wasn’t just a pitcher either. Jiwan was a wide receiver, safety and point guard. This was a multi sport and multi talented athlete. There was a general sense that no matter what baseball offered Jiwan was headed to the University of Florida to play football with Tim Tebow and the rest of gator nation. That’s the rub with two sport athletes, you never know if you’re wasting your time because until they sign on the dotted line you don’t know which sport they’re headed to long term. I was told by a very dear friend of mine that you should never sign a two sport athlete to a baseball contract unless they LOVE baseball ahead of all the other sports. If a multi sport athlete doesn’t love playing baseball he will never make in spite of whatever tools that player may have. If a two sport athlete struggles in professional baseball he’s more likely than a one sport athlete to quit because he has other options to fall back on. So again, it was widely assumed Jiwan was head to UF to go play football and that was that.
The phillies selected Jiwan in the 22nd round that June. I had ignored my own advice that year and totally missed that he signed a pro contract that summer for well above slot money. The only reason I even found out Jiwan signed is because I ran into the scout who signed him and overhead him talking about it. I was disappointed that I totally misread that situation because I really felt Jiwan was headed to UF. You can never assume anything in this game, you absolutely have to go with your gut sometimes and just stay on top of things no matter what people are telling you. I very rarely make that mistake and I certainly haven’t made that mistake since the Jiwan situation. Jiwan got his start in the GCL as a pitcher. Jiwan had one of the most fluid deliveries I have ever seen for a kid his age. It shouldn’t have been a surprise given his athletic gifts but I again assumed he was going to be a position player in professional baseball. He did have 9 AB’s in 2007 before going on the mound full time but his natural abilities on the mound were just too tempting to pass up.
I tried to get in contact with Jiwan while he was playing in GCL but I had no such luck. We called his family a few more times until we finally got a hold of him after the season. At that point we were informed that Jiwan and his family appreciated our interest in his career but they already selected another agent to work with. He told me if his relationship ever soured with his agent I would be the first person he'd call. That's why it's important to never burn any bridges if you dont get hired. Baseball is a strange game and you honestly can never tell whats going to happen in the future. Disappointment is something you cannot dwell on in this job. Much like the game itself you fail far more than you succeed and its how well you deal with failure that determines what kind of agent one will be.
The following season I had three clients report to Clearwater for spring training. One client, Michael Durant, got randomly assigned a roommate for his living assignment that spring, Jiwan James. One day while talking to Michael online he mentioned to me that his roommate was looking for an agent. I asked who it was and was promptly told “Jiwan James”. Very rarely does an agent get a chance at redemption and despite the fact that signing Jiwan after he was a professional would be a huge expense and commitment, I jumped at the opportunity to speak with him again. Jiwan had told me that the agent he originally hired had quit the industry. Jiwan called him up one day and tried to order some gear for spring training and met with a reluctant admission. His agent told him he was done, which was totally disrespectful to Jiwan, because had he not called his agent that day he never would have been informed that his agent was quitting. Jiwan and I spoke for a few weeks after our initial consultation and after some major assistance from Micahel Durant Jiwan had finally hired us to be his agent. Jiwan was hurt at the time but I really believed in this kids mental make up and talent so much so that it didn’t even bother me that he would be on the shelf the rest of the season.
Even though Jiwan was rehabbing during the initial stages of our representation we still spoke regularly online. I work a great deal from my cell phone and my lap top so the more clients I can talk to online the better I feel about things. One thing Jiwan has done for me which isnt really appreciated is that he put to death any ideas I may have had that I was still a kid. Jiwan is not only a freak athlete, the man absolutely dominates video games. I have literally zero down time to play any kind of video games these days but I still wastefully purchase them in the unlikely event that Ill get to the play them like when I was a kid. I talk, a lot. Sometimes it gets me into trouble and sometimes its an asset. I told Jiwan 100’s of times that I would absolutely dominate him in Madden this year. So one night I couldn’t sleep and I saw that Jiwan was online. Finally I had the chance to play him on xbox live and dominate him once and for all. We set up the game, picked teams, and were talking over the headsets the whole time thus ensuring that no woman will ever talk to me again for doing all this. Long story short, I was down 56-0 at half time, shut the game off and didn’t talk to Jiwan for an hour. The only reason I am telling this story is because I told Jiwan I would publicly admit my Madden failure and retire from video games for good after that defeat.
Back in the real world Jiwan continued to work hard off the field in hopes of getting back on the mound again. This sadly was not to be. The stress from pitching on his arm was too great and now the Phillies decided to put Jiwan back in the outfield. This was a pretty scary proposition. Because of his signing bonus, there was an expectation that Jiwan was going to be a big time pitching prospect and now he was facing an uncertain path as a position player. Jiwan was confident this move would be for the best and jumped right back into hitting despite the two year lay off. Jiwan so far has proven to be right. After a very exciting instructional league season Jiwan is coming into 2010 as the best athlete in the Phillies organization and as a preseason top 10 prospect according to several publications including BP. Rankings are all well and good but it’s what you do on the field that counts. The future is brighter than ever for Jiwan and I am happy as hell to be not only his agent, but his friend too. I never gave up on Jiwan while he was injured because I always believed he would get himself back to where he needed to be. You have to trust you gut with these kind of things and if you are lucky enough to represent a kid with great character and makeup sometimes that’s just as important as the physical gifts one may have. And although the big leagues are years away right now, I have little doubt that’s where the end of the rainbow is for Jiwan James. And that’s the lesson. You never give up on an 80 tool. Jiwan James is physically gifted beyond belief but when it comes to makeup and character Jiwan James is that rare 80 tool human being.
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Keep Running Up That Hill
The line between being a professional who is doing his job and being a self loathing stalker like creature is dangerously thin in this industry. Every year that I have held this job I have scouted kids younger and younger each subsequent year. The first year I started at worst I would only have to look at high school seniors. Then over time I started scouting juniors then sophomores and now I have to look at high school freshman. High school freshman get looked at by scouts and agents. I half expect to see Chris Hanson every time I show up at a game these days. I pray baseball doesn’t go the route of college football because I don’t even know what I would do if I had to start scouting little league games. I honestly cant envision a time where I would be comfortable going into a families home somewhere in middle america and pulling a Nick Nolte in Blue Chips, having to answer if I am a southern baptist or northern baptist. Over the last 10 years that’s where this business has gone. We’re scouting children for financial gain. Speaking of Blue Chips, Ive always had one major qualm with that movie which is amazing because I‘m pretty sure if I watched it again I‘d probably find a 1,000 more. This one issue has baffled me the last 16 years since the film was released so much so that I completely am blind to anything else that was wrong in the movie. The casting director found Penny Hardaway and Shaq to play two fictional basketball recruits in the film named Butch McRae and Neon Boudeaux. However when we finally get to see the token white recruit, who of course was a three point specialist, the role was played by an actor. They literally could not find one white NBA player to play Ricky Roe. Not one! Not Tom Gugliotta, not Adam Keefe, not Rex Chapman, not even the most obvious pick Christian Laettner. Evidently the crew could not find a white NBA player with the acting chops to keep up with the epic performances of Shaq and Penny.
The business of scouting has gotten more ugly the last 10 years and it’s gotten that way thanks to coaches, colleges, scouts and agents. Kids play year round now and it’s alarming to me that many of the kids lose out on a great deal of their childhood because of the demands of their baseball schedules. College and pro teams all try to do their homework on these kids years in advance trying to gain a competitive edge while many established agents have been forced into earlier recruiting in hopes of trying to curtail something very dangerous I have noticed in the last few years. Ive seen people trying to get into this industry do anything in the world to try and land a client and the worst trend Ive seen is underclassman retain an advisor even as young as 14 years old. Retaining an advisor is obviously a personal choice and one can choose to get one at whatever point in time the family decides they need help but there is absolutely no good reason a freshman in high school should ever be talking to an advisor. Hiring an advisor as a freshman in high school in a one way street and I wish more than anything teams did not put families in a position where the feel like they need to start the process sooner than they have to. There are good parts however to scouting while you’re an agent.
One thing I have learned in this business is that you never close the book on any player ever while you’re scouting. If you’re at a game to see a certain player you cant just focus on that player. I discovered two of my higher profile clients completely by accident. I went to Florida State University from December of 2001 to May 2006. FSU is located in Tallahassee, Florida which is vastly different from Fort Lauderdale where I grew up. Tallahassee may be in Florida but it’s more like south Georgia than anything. Tallahassee has a community college which was located two blocks from my apartment where I lived while I was in school. The first time I ever went to TCC before I became an agent full time I had the pleasure of watching Chipola CC in 2002. I had the opportunity to watching Adam Loewen who had a ton of buzz because of the amount of money he turned down that June. I also got to watch their lesser known third baseman by the name of Russell Martin. Watching that game opened my eyes to something I was totally unaware of at the time which was the viable professional prospects could be found a the junior college level.
A few years later I went back to TCC to scout players for my agency which was still very much in its infancy. I did whatever internet research I could ahead of time and discovered there were several draft and follow players at the school and at Chipola CC, whom TCC was playing that day. I specifically went to the game to scout Michael Saunders who is now in the major leagues for the Seattle Mariners. I never got the chance to talk to him that day because I was enamored by the centerfielders on both clubs. Lorenzo Cain and Darren Ford. Both Darren and Lorenzo were drafted by the Brewers the previous year and were draft and follow prospects for the 2005 season. Since both players were drafted in the middle rounds I figured neither was represented and I thought it would behoove me to make contact with them.
Starting out in this business, professionalism is something that I had a problem with. It wasn’t because I had a lack of respect for the game or the people involved in the game, it was because I had no idea what the hell it was that I was doing. I was still in college and I was working with my father trying to get our company off the ground. I would literally go to class then head to the games dressed in street clothes and unfortunately for me the street clothes didn’t exactly scream “agent”. It’s honestly a miracle any player would talk to me when I got started much less hire me. The day I met Lorenzo and Darren I was wearing dirty jeans that were completely torn at the heels and a Nirvana T-shirt. I looked more like a classmate than someone who could assist in these young mens careers. After the game I approached Darren first because being on the visiting team I figured he didn’t have much time to stick around after the game before catching the team bus. I introduced myself to him gave him a business card and all he kept saying to me was “Call my mom, I have nothing to do with this”. That wasn’t real encouraging not to mention he was pretty much laughing at me the entire time. I figured that was the end of that situation and I soon made my way to the TCC clubhouse. I waited for Lorenzo for a good hour before he came out. I introduced myself gave him the same talk I gave Darren an hour earlier and then presented him with my business card. I will never forget the look on Lorenzo had on his face the entire time I was talking with him. It was the ,Where’s Ashton look. I am fairly certain to this day Lorenzo thought he was being punk’d by a teammate.
One day about a month after I met both players I get a phone call from an unfamiliar area code. I answered and the first thing I hear was “What do you want to do with my baby!” It was the voice of a woman whom I have grown quite close with over the years. It was Darrens mother Carla. I spoke to her for an hour and assured her I had nothing but the best intentions at heart when I contacted her son. I stayed in touch with Mrs. Ford for months until I finally got the good news that I was hired. Same situation happened with Lorenzo. I stayed in touch with Lorenzo and his mother until I finally got the good news that I was hired. And that’s what happens in this business. I went to a single baseball game to see a player that I didn’t even get a chance to talk to and over time I was hired by two players that I now consider to be a part of my family. I have no idea what my life would be like if I didn’t have both Darren and Lorenzo in my life not only as clients but as my friends. Darren and Lorenzo were the first two players to hire me out of college (I had signed several minor league players at that point in time) and now they’re both on their teams 40 man rosters. It is such a rewarding experience being there the entire journey that starts in college and with a bit of luck and determination ends in the major leagues.
The second story I have about accidentally finding a player also happened at TCC and it all came from that first game I attended there. A major league team had a predraft workout at TCC that May and I wanted to go to see what something like that was like. While there my father and I were sitting behind home plate next to a woman whose son was invited to the workout. We sat next to this woman totally by chance, we just wanted someone to talk to while we watched the workout. This woman told us all about her son and how his father was a former major leaguer. As an agent, when you hear a player has a parent who played in the major leagues you automatically assume that the family already has an advisor or agent taking care of the situation. I learned quickly that this wasn’t the case for this player and his family. So after the workout I told my father to give this woman our business card. He initially resisted but I told him Id kill him if he didn’t. Finally dad relented and told the woman ‘Even though you probably don’t need this, my son said he’d kill me if I didn’t give you my card” The player and his mother were polite as can be and when it was over they told us they appreciated the card and that we’d be in touch. That player was Michael Brantley
That June the draft came and went and we went about our business as usual. We had Darren Ford and Lorenzo Cain both part of the Brewers organization playing in their minor league system. By some act of god, Michael was also drafted by the Brewers. Because Michael was drafted by the Brewers and was playing with Darren and Lorenzo we were able to stay in touch with him over the years. As expected, Michael did not hire an agent and was being taken care of professionally by his parents so in his mind he had no use for my services. Even though Michael didn’t want to hire me it didn’t impair the friendship I had with him. After Michaels third season I finally got the call I had been hoping for. I had two meetings set up, one with Michael and his mother and one with Michael and his father. Both meetings went well and about a week later I was officially hired.
I will say one thing about the meeting with Mickey Brantley. I was beyond nervous about meeting with a former major leaguer about representing his only son and I was pretty sure my age would work as a disadvantage in this case in addition to being relatively new to the industry. The only concern Mickey had about hiring me was the fact that I represented Darren Ford and Lorenzo Cain, the two people largely responsible for allowing me to stay in contact with Michael in the first place. Mickey felt that I had a huge conflict of interest and it wouldn’t be in Michaels best interest to have an agent who represented his competition. When Mickey asked me how I would deal with that situation I assured him that the conflict was minimal at best, that Michael would likely move to a corner OF position, and that there was always the chance someone could get traded. Thankfully Darren and Michael were traded the next season and my conflict of interest was alleviated. I now represent three centerfield prospects for three different teams.
So one baseball game changed the course of my entire life. Because I went to scout Michael Saunders at TCC in January of 2005 I signed Michael Brantley, Lorenzo Cain and Darren Ford. I have been there from the beginning for all three players and now I get the ultimate reward of seeing them live their dreams up close and personal. Michael has a chance to be the opening day left fielder for the Cleveland Indians this year while Darren and Lorenzo both will likely make their MLB debuts sometime in 2010. I have lived up to every promise I have made to all three of these men and in return they have stuck with and my father the entire time. The ultimate reward for all the hard work I have done is knowing that I have made a difference and have had a positive impact in the lives of my clients. They aren’t just clients to me. These guys are my family. I know it’s a business and while some agents prefer to set professional boundaries I will never close myself off to any of my clients. They all know me from top to bottom. They know my strengths and they know my faults, I give them my heart and soul and the only thing I ask in return is that they do everything in their powers to take advantage of this tremendous opportunity to play baseball.
The business of scouting has gotten more ugly the last 10 years and it’s gotten that way thanks to coaches, colleges, scouts and agents. Kids play year round now and it’s alarming to me that many of the kids lose out on a great deal of their childhood because of the demands of their baseball schedules. College and pro teams all try to do their homework on these kids years in advance trying to gain a competitive edge while many established agents have been forced into earlier recruiting in hopes of trying to curtail something very dangerous I have noticed in the last few years. Ive seen people trying to get into this industry do anything in the world to try and land a client and the worst trend Ive seen is underclassman retain an advisor even as young as 14 years old. Retaining an advisor is obviously a personal choice and one can choose to get one at whatever point in time the family decides they need help but there is absolutely no good reason a freshman in high school should ever be talking to an advisor. Hiring an advisor as a freshman in high school in a one way street and I wish more than anything teams did not put families in a position where the feel like they need to start the process sooner than they have to. There are good parts however to scouting while you’re an agent.
One thing I have learned in this business is that you never close the book on any player ever while you’re scouting. If you’re at a game to see a certain player you cant just focus on that player. I discovered two of my higher profile clients completely by accident. I went to Florida State University from December of 2001 to May 2006. FSU is located in Tallahassee, Florida which is vastly different from Fort Lauderdale where I grew up. Tallahassee may be in Florida but it’s more like south Georgia than anything. Tallahassee has a community college which was located two blocks from my apartment where I lived while I was in school. The first time I ever went to TCC before I became an agent full time I had the pleasure of watching Chipola CC in 2002. I had the opportunity to watching Adam Loewen who had a ton of buzz because of the amount of money he turned down that June. I also got to watch their lesser known third baseman by the name of Russell Martin. Watching that game opened my eyes to something I was totally unaware of at the time which was the viable professional prospects could be found a the junior college level.
A few years later I went back to TCC to scout players for my agency which was still very much in its infancy. I did whatever internet research I could ahead of time and discovered there were several draft and follow players at the school and at Chipola CC, whom TCC was playing that day. I specifically went to the game to scout Michael Saunders who is now in the major leagues for the Seattle Mariners. I never got the chance to talk to him that day because I was enamored by the centerfielders on both clubs. Lorenzo Cain and Darren Ford. Both Darren and Lorenzo were drafted by the Brewers the previous year and were draft and follow prospects for the 2005 season. Since both players were drafted in the middle rounds I figured neither was represented and I thought it would behoove me to make contact with them.
Starting out in this business, professionalism is something that I had a problem with. It wasn’t because I had a lack of respect for the game or the people involved in the game, it was because I had no idea what the hell it was that I was doing. I was still in college and I was working with my father trying to get our company off the ground. I would literally go to class then head to the games dressed in street clothes and unfortunately for me the street clothes didn’t exactly scream “agent”. It’s honestly a miracle any player would talk to me when I got started much less hire me. The day I met Lorenzo and Darren I was wearing dirty jeans that were completely torn at the heels and a Nirvana T-shirt. I looked more like a classmate than someone who could assist in these young mens careers. After the game I approached Darren first because being on the visiting team I figured he didn’t have much time to stick around after the game before catching the team bus. I introduced myself to him gave him a business card and all he kept saying to me was “Call my mom, I have nothing to do with this”. That wasn’t real encouraging not to mention he was pretty much laughing at me the entire time. I figured that was the end of that situation and I soon made my way to the TCC clubhouse. I waited for Lorenzo for a good hour before he came out. I introduced myself gave him the same talk I gave Darren an hour earlier and then presented him with my business card. I will never forget the look on Lorenzo had on his face the entire time I was talking with him. It was the ,Where’s Ashton look. I am fairly certain to this day Lorenzo thought he was being punk’d by a teammate.
One day about a month after I met both players I get a phone call from an unfamiliar area code. I answered and the first thing I hear was “What do you want to do with my baby!” It was the voice of a woman whom I have grown quite close with over the years. It was Darrens mother Carla. I spoke to her for an hour and assured her I had nothing but the best intentions at heart when I contacted her son. I stayed in touch with Mrs. Ford for months until I finally got the good news that I was hired. Same situation happened with Lorenzo. I stayed in touch with Lorenzo and his mother until I finally got the good news that I was hired. And that’s what happens in this business. I went to a single baseball game to see a player that I didn’t even get a chance to talk to and over time I was hired by two players that I now consider to be a part of my family. I have no idea what my life would be like if I didn’t have both Darren and Lorenzo in my life not only as clients but as my friends. Darren and Lorenzo were the first two players to hire me out of college (I had signed several minor league players at that point in time) and now they’re both on their teams 40 man rosters. It is such a rewarding experience being there the entire journey that starts in college and with a bit of luck and determination ends in the major leagues.
The second story I have about accidentally finding a player also happened at TCC and it all came from that first game I attended there. A major league team had a predraft workout at TCC that May and I wanted to go to see what something like that was like. While there my father and I were sitting behind home plate next to a woman whose son was invited to the workout. We sat next to this woman totally by chance, we just wanted someone to talk to while we watched the workout. This woman told us all about her son and how his father was a former major leaguer. As an agent, when you hear a player has a parent who played in the major leagues you automatically assume that the family already has an advisor or agent taking care of the situation. I learned quickly that this wasn’t the case for this player and his family. So after the workout I told my father to give this woman our business card. He initially resisted but I told him Id kill him if he didn’t. Finally dad relented and told the woman ‘Even though you probably don’t need this, my son said he’d kill me if I didn’t give you my card” The player and his mother were polite as can be and when it was over they told us they appreciated the card and that we’d be in touch. That player was Michael Brantley
That June the draft came and went and we went about our business as usual. We had Darren Ford and Lorenzo Cain both part of the Brewers organization playing in their minor league system. By some act of god, Michael was also drafted by the Brewers. Because Michael was drafted by the Brewers and was playing with Darren and Lorenzo we were able to stay in touch with him over the years. As expected, Michael did not hire an agent and was being taken care of professionally by his parents so in his mind he had no use for my services. Even though Michael didn’t want to hire me it didn’t impair the friendship I had with him. After Michaels third season I finally got the call I had been hoping for. I had two meetings set up, one with Michael and his mother and one with Michael and his father. Both meetings went well and about a week later I was officially hired.
I will say one thing about the meeting with Mickey Brantley. I was beyond nervous about meeting with a former major leaguer about representing his only son and I was pretty sure my age would work as a disadvantage in this case in addition to being relatively new to the industry. The only concern Mickey had about hiring me was the fact that I represented Darren Ford and Lorenzo Cain, the two people largely responsible for allowing me to stay in contact with Michael in the first place. Mickey felt that I had a huge conflict of interest and it wouldn’t be in Michaels best interest to have an agent who represented his competition. When Mickey asked me how I would deal with that situation I assured him that the conflict was minimal at best, that Michael would likely move to a corner OF position, and that there was always the chance someone could get traded. Thankfully Darren and Michael were traded the next season and my conflict of interest was alleviated. I now represent three centerfield prospects for three different teams.
So one baseball game changed the course of my entire life. Because I went to scout Michael Saunders at TCC in January of 2005 I signed Michael Brantley, Lorenzo Cain and Darren Ford. I have been there from the beginning for all three players and now I get the ultimate reward of seeing them live their dreams up close and personal. Michael has a chance to be the opening day left fielder for the Cleveland Indians this year while Darren and Lorenzo both will likely make their MLB debuts sometime in 2010. I have lived up to every promise I have made to all three of these men and in return they have stuck with and my father the entire time. The ultimate reward for all the hard work I have done is knowing that I have made a difference and have had a positive impact in the lives of my clients. They aren’t just clients to me. These guys are my family. I know it’s a business and while some agents prefer to set professional boundaries I will never close myself off to any of my clients. They all know me from top to bottom. They know my strengths and they know my faults, I give them my heart and soul and the only thing I ask in return is that they do everything in their powers to take advantage of this tremendous opportunity to play baseball.
Saturday, February 20, 2010
Thats What I Did I Killed My Toe
Today would have been kurt cobains 43rd birthday. There isnt a day that goes by where I dont listen to the mans music. I know Ill carry this music til I meet my end. Alls well that ends well. All in all is all we are
mahalo
JK
mahalo
JK
Anything Worth Doing
Everyone has an idea of what it is that I do. People have a perception of what all agents do. Some people think we're evil monsters ruining the purity of Americas Past Time while others don’t know we exist at all. Just about everything valuable that I have learned in this business has come from good old fashioned experience. There are certain things that I have learned by studying what people in the game have taught me directly while there are other things, valuable things, that I have been forced to learn on the fly. This is one example in crisis management. Unless you have advised someone in a major crisis you would have no idea what the hell you're be talking about. This is not something you learn in school it's just something born from experience.
During the 2009 baseball season I had a client suspended for failing to comply with the minor league drug testing program. This was not the first time this player was suspended for this offense and from my perspective this could potentially be an atomic bomb to this young mans career. Fans never get to see the human impact on things like this. Fans tend to only think about the impact events like this will have on their favorite team. There are lives and families at stake when something like this happens and as an agent it is my responsibility first and foremost to make sure that the family and the player are stabilized and calm no matter how bad the situation may seem. Think Phil Ivey pushing all in with 7/2 off suit at the final table at Binions. It's that serious because a young mans career and sanity is at stake and along with that to some degree so is mine.
To that point, one of the things I see happen behind the scenes all the time is that some agents think they are some kind of autonomous body that can exist without the players. Wrong. Without the players an agent is just a guy. Just a man like every other man. I never forget that fact. I literally am nobody without my clients. I have no career, I have no job, I have nothing professionally without my clients. My career completely co-dependent on the choices these men make every single day and I am completely subject to the whims of frailty.
When I got news of my players suspension I was at a Movie theater in Cary, North Carolina. I was in Cary because I was scouting a player on the Canadian Junior National team who had just recently been drafted by the Dodgers that June. It was around 7 pm when I got the call. Up until that point I wasnt having all that bad of a day. I got to watch several games at the USA Baseball facility, I had dinner with an old friend from high school and I finally made my way to the local movie theater just so I could get some alone time. Much to my ultimate chagrin the only movie starting at the time I got to the theater was Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen. Now I consider myself to be a movie aficionado and I knew instantly I would lose all my movie cool the second I purchased a ticket to see a Michael Bay film but at that point I didn’t care because at worst I would get to watch Megan Fox "act" for a couple of hours and at best I would potentially have some awesome childhood memories come flooding back to me during the course of the film. Sadly, the only flashback I had during the film came about halfway through viewing when I recalled the epic 1986 cartoon Transformers: The Movie. It was a children’s cartoon and yet at the end of that movie Optimus Prime surrounded by his closest friends and family just dies.
Think about that for a moment. Someone had to write that entire scene, dialogue and all, then pitch the scene to whomever it needed to be pitched to, a director, the art department, the producer whoever. Then everyone involved with the movie had to sign off on the idea that killing an animated children’s hero would be a great idea. Then finally after all that the animators had to draw those scenes in order to give them to the voice over department so actors could voice a death sequence that could potentially traumatize millions upon millions of children. Who thinks of these things? I cant believe this was Orson Welles last film. (Really, look that up.)
During that daydream I got the phone call. When you're an agent your clients have to come above all else. I feel not only an obligation to my players to be available 24 hours a day but I consider it a privilege. I feel if my clients believe in me enough to trust them with their careers then I owe it to them to give them every bit of my soul. I will always answer my phone at 3 am. The call came and the player was obviously very upset. I have known this player since he was 15 years old. This player comes from a special family with absolutely incredible parents. This is a good kid. Everyone says that about the players they represent but I know in my heart for a fact this is a good kid. This is the kind of kid who loves people and loves his career. This player always signs autographs before and after games until everyone who wants one has one and always says sir or mam when addressing adults. This is a kid who unfortunately has a very serious disease.
I have much experience in dealing with the troubles of addiction because I grew up with it as a child. I had a family member very close to me go through the pain and suffering of addiction. Addiction is not a choice. Addiction is very much a disease and fortunatly for this player he had an agent who was quite sympathetic to his situation. Anger and disappointment I would imagine is the first reaction most people would have in a situation like this however I felt nothing but compassion for this player. I knew I would be able to help him get his career and his life totally rehabilitated if he let me. So the first phone call came from him. The second phone call came from his mother. We talked, I listened and I promised her I would do everything in my powers to help this situation. I simply told her, trust me and let me do my job. Then I got to work
The first two phone calls I made after talking to the player and his family were to the two local beat writers for the team that this player played for. I broke the news to them immediately because I do not believe in hiding. I believe genuine and absolute contrition is the only path to salvation. I gave my quotes to both writers and I promised both of them that the player would be made available uncoached and totally unplugged when he was ready to speak. The first step in repairing a damaged image is to apologize but only if its sincere. The second step in this process was finding a place for this player to get help for his problem. With the help of his parent club arrangements were made for this player to get the help he needed. In addition to that, I had this player contact my family member who was them self a recovering addict in hopes that somehow that would help this player get through his struggles. During the entire off season this player got a regular job working at various places such as a landscaping business and a restaurant. I think in addition to his therapy, working a "normal" job helped put in perspective how lucky this player was to be playing sports as a career. After this players rehabilitation was finished, one final major interview was granted before the start of spring training that hopefully answered any lingering questions about the suspension and the problems this player had with addiction. The goal of this interview was to curtail any questions any reporters would have during the season because this absolutely cannot be a distraction during the year. And that’s the game plan when something goes awry. 1.Get everyone calm. 2.Contact the media and apologize 3. Get help. 4. Apologize more. 5. Live up to all the promises you have made. It doesn’t take dangerous gypsy magic to rehabilitate an image, just genuine contrition and the desire to right your life. So as of now all is well in the universe and the player is looking ahead to 2010 with hope for the first time in a very long time.
I wanted to write about crisis management today because I was disappointed in what I saw from Tiger Woods today. I don’t think anybody with a pulse could have been surprised at the hilariously scripted and staged atmosphere at today’s press conference. However this is the kind of ignorance we've come to expect from the cauldron of audacity that is celebrity these days. It was arrogance at its purest. I honestly felt like I was watching the last scene in The Departed, where Matt Damon comes home holding his bag of groceries and is greeted by Mark Wahlberg wearing nothing but scrubs and Wonder-Bread bags on his feet. Tiger had the exact same look on his face the entire press conference that Matt Damon had right before the end and you could sense the entire time that Tiger was just waiting to say "Okay..." then credits roll. You almost half expected a CGI mouse to come to the podium and start gnawing on a piece of cheese.
My client is not Tiger Woods but I do feel like he had an obligation to be honest with everyone included the public about his transgressions. When you make the decision to work in show business (because that’s what sports are) you are subject to different things that most people will never experience. Fame, Money, and in cases of indiscretion, total public embarrassment. It comes with the territory and the territory isn’t cheap. I know my client is on the right path and I will stand by his side until he tells me not to because after all I am always going to be subject to the whims of frailty.
During the 2009 baseball season I had a client suspended for failing to comply with the minor league drug testing program. This was not the first time this player was suspended for this offense and from my perspective this could potentially be an atomic bomb to this young mans career. Fans never get to see the human impact on things like this. Fans tend to only think about the impact events like this will have on their favorite team. There are lives and families at stake when something like this happens and as an agent it is my responsibility first and foremost to make sure that the family and the player are stabilized and calm no matter how bad the situation may seem. Think Phil Ivey pushing all in with 7/2 off suit at the final table at Binions. It's that serious because a young mans career and sanity is at stake and along with that to some degree so is mine.
To that point, one of the things I see happen behind the scenes all the time is that some agents think they are some kind of autonomous body that can exist without the players. Wrong. Without the players an agent is just a guy. Just a man like every other man. I never forget that fact. I literally am nobody without my clients. I have no career, I have no job, I have nothing professionally without my clients. My career completely co-dependent on the choices these men make every single day and I am completely subject to the whims of frailty.
When I got news of my players suspension I was at a Movie theater in Cary, North Carolina. I was in Cary because I was scouting a player on the Canadian Junior National team who had just recently been drafted by the Dodgers that June. It was around 7 pm when I got the call. Up until that point I wasnt having all that bad of a day. I got to watch several games at the USA Baseball facility, I had dinner with an old friend from high school and I finally made my way to the local movie theater just so I could get some alone time. Much to my ultimate chagrin the only movie starting at the time I got to the theater was Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen. Now I consider myself to be a movie aficionado and I knew instantly I would lose all my movie cool the second I purchased a ticket to see a Michael Bay film but at that point I didn’t care because at worst I would get to watch Megan Fox "act" for a couple of hours and at best I would potentially have some awesome childhood memories come flooding back to me during the course of the film. Sadly, the only flashback I had during the film came about halfway through viewing when I recalled the epic 1986 cartoon Transformers: The Movie. It was a children’s cartoon and yet at the end of that movie Optimus Prime surrounded by his closest friends and family just dies.
Think about that for a moment. Someone had to write that entire scene, dialogue and all, then pitch the scene to whomever it needed to be pitched to, a director, the art department, the producer whoever. Then everyone involved with the movie had to sign off on the idea that killing an animated children’s hero would be a great idea. Then finally after all that the animators had to draw those scenes in order to give them to the voice over department so actors could voice a death sequence that could potentially traumatize millions upon millions of children. Who thinks of these things? I cant believe this was Orson Welles last film. (Really, look that up.)
During that daydream I got the phone call. When you're an agent your clients have to come above all else. I feel not only an obligation to my players to be available 24 hours a day but I consider it a privilege. I feel if my clients believe in me enough to trust them with their careers then I owe it to them to give them every bit of my soul. I will always answer my phone at 3 am. The call came and the player was obviously very upset. I have known this player since he was 15 years old. This player comes from a special family with absolutely incredible parents. This is a good kid. Everyone says that about the players they represent but I know in my heart for a fact this is a good kid. This is the kind of kid who loves people and loves his career. This player always signs autographs before and after games until everyone who wants one has one and always says sir or mam when addressing adults. This is a kid who unfortunately has a very serious disease.
I have much experience in dealing with the troubles of addiction because I grew up with it as a child. I had a family member very close to me go through the pain and suffering of addiction. Addiction is not a choice. Addiction is very much a disease and fortunatly for this player he had an agent who was quite sympathetic to his situation. Anger and disappointment I would imagine is the first reaction most people would have in a situation like this however I felt nothing but compassion for this player. I knew I would be able to help him get his career and his life totally rehabilitated if he let me. So the first phone call came from him. The second phone call came from his mother. We talked, I listened and I promised her I would do everything in my powers to help this situation. I simply told her, trust me and let me do my job. Then I got to work
The first two phone calls I made after talking to the player and his family were to the two local beat writers for the team that this player played for. I broke the news to them immediately because I do not believe in hiding. I believe genuine and absolute contrition is the only path to salvation. I gave my quotes to both writers and I promised both of them that the player would be made available uncoached and totally unplugged when he was ready to speak. The first step in repairing a damaged image is to apologize but only if its sincere. The second step in this process was finding a place for this player to get help for his problem. With the help of his parent club arrangements were made for this player to get the help he needed. In addition to that, I had this player contact my family member who was them self a recovering addict in hopes that somehow that would help this player get through his struggles. During the entire off season this player got a regular job working at various places such as a landscaping business and a restaurant. I think in addition to his therapy, working a "normal" job helped put in perspective how lucky this player was to be playing sports as a career. After this players rehabilitation was finished, one final major interview was granted before the start of spring training that hopefully answered any lingering questions about the suspension and the problems this player had with addiction. The goal of this interview was to curtail any questions any reporters would have during the season because this absolutely cannot be a distraction during the year. And that’s the game plan when something goes awry. 1.Get everyone calm. 2.Contact the media and apologize 3. Get help. 4. Apologize more. 5. Live up to all the promises you have made. It doesn’t take dangerous gypsy magic to rehabilitate an image, just genuine contrition and the desire to right your life. So as of now all is well in the universe and the player is looking ahead to 2010 with hope for the first time in a very long time.
I wanted to write about crisis management today because I was disappointed in what I saw from Tiger Woods today. I don’t think anybody with a pulse could have been surprised at the hilariously scripted and staged atmosphere at today’s press conference. However this is the kind of ignorance we've come to expect from the cauldron of audacity that is celebrity these days. It was arrogance at its purest. I honestly felt like I was watching the last scene in The Departed, where Matt Damon comes home holding his bag of groceries and is greeted by Mark Wahlberg wearing nothing but scrubs and Wonder-Bread bags on his feet. Tiger had the exact same look on his face the entire press conference that Matt Damon had right before the end and you could sense the entire time that Tiger was just waiting to say "Okay..." then credits roll. You almost half expected a CGI mouse to come to the podium and start gnawing on a piece of cheese.
My client is not Tiger Woods but I do feel like he had an obligation to be honest with everyone included the public about his transgressions. When you make the decision to work in show business (because that’s what sports are) you are subject to different things that most people will never experience. Fame, Money, and in cases of indiscretion, total public embarrassment. It comes with the territory and the territory isn’t cheap. I know my client is on the right path and I will stand by his side until he tells me not to because after all I am always going to be subject to the whims of frailty.
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
Sunday, February 7, 2010
Stay Cool
Super Bowl was fun. I went to a ton of events this week. Moves Magazine super bowl party, Michael Irvin's party at the hard rock, probably could have hit the GQ party, and had a chance for the espn one as well. I got to meet Mitch Richmond, TO, Donovan McNabb, Brady Quinn , Jevon Kearse, Josh Cribbs, Ludacris and tons of other guys from the world of sports at the event. It was even more fun because I finally got to take my dad to an event finally.
Finishing up a bunch of end orsement deals before the season. Booked all my travel arrangements for ST. Cant wait.
Exhausted beyond belief balancing work and my life. Its a chore for sure.
All in all Im all in all
J
Finishing up a bunch of end orsement deals before the season. Booked all my travel arrangements for ST. Cant wait.
Exhausted beyond belief balancing work and my life. Its a chore for sure.
All in all Im all in all
J
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
This Is Just A Business
Sometimes things happen in your career that shock you no matter what you've seen or been through before. Last night I had dinner with 10 or so of my clients. Everyone that was in town showed up except for one player who I had signed a couple years ago. Over the last two seasons I felt that I had cultivated a pretty good relationship with him. I felt especially close to him because here was a guy that was alot like me. He had a reputation not unlike myself but if you took the time to get to know him he really is a tremendously awesome person. I learned something valuable today. I picked up said player from the field today to meet for lunch. I had a horrible feeling about this going into it but it didnt make the news any easier to hear. I was getting fired. This player handled the situation as classy and as professionally as anyone Ive dealt with in my entire career. I was shocked to say the least because I thought my relationship with him transcended baseball. I was wrong. Very wrong. This is a sobering reminder that no matter how much you care about a player or how much you think you're helping them there are still things out there that can get you fired. This player voiced some concerns, we talked, but I wish to god he said something sooner than just letting me go today. I teared up during several points in the conversation and you know what? Thats a good thing. I really cared about this guy but in the end it didnt matter to him. In his eyes, and he has every right to feel this way, I just wasnt right for him. I respect him for being honest with me but I am saddened that our relationship is damaged forever.
Theres the rub. The sobering cold reminder of everything that everyone always tells me. It's still a business. This is just a business. So, if the player is reading this, I'm sorry that you feel I let you down. I make no apologies for my actions or anything I have done that has gotten me to this point. If I didnt do things exactly the way I did them, I wouldnt be where I am at today. That doesnt mean going forward Im the same person I was a couple years ago. All last year I worked hard to shake any labels I may have had. I worked hard to show people I was doing things instead of coasting on potential. I think I have done a pretty good job of getting to where I need to be with my career. Im proud that I have 11 40 man guys, Im proud I have 5 25 man guys. I am proud of everything I have done so far.
All I can do now is keep doing what Im doing and hope that the guys I have will appreciate everything I try to do for them because god knows I appreciate all of them for sticking with me. I thank god every day for every single player I represent because I give up my life for them. They are my world, they are my life, and without them Im nothing and there is nothing I could do to ever fully repay these guys for giving me the life I have today. You win some you lose some but if you fully give up your soul for your job like I have you will never feel bad when things go wrong because deep down you know the problem is not with you.
Thats all
J
Theres the rub. The sobering cold reminder of everything that everyone always tells me. It's still a business. This is just a business. So, if the player is reading this, I'm sorry that you feel I let you down. I make no apologies for my actions or anything I have done that has gotten me to this point. If I didnt do things exactly the way I did them, I wouldnt be where I am at today. That doesnt mean going forward Im the same person I was a couple years ago. All last year I worked hard to shake any labels I may have had. I worked hard to show people I was doing things instead of coasting on potential. I think I have done a pretty good job of getting to where I need to be with my career. Im proud that I have 11 40 man guys, Im proud I have 5 25 man guys. I am proud of everything I have done so far.
All I can do now is keep doing what Im doing and hope that the guys I have will appreciate everything I try to do for them because god knows I appreciate all of them for sticking with me. I thank god every day for every single player I represent because I give up my life for them. They are my world, they are my life, and without them Im nothing and there is nothing I could do to ever fully repay these guys for giving me the life I have today. You win some you lose some but if you fully give up your soul for your job like I have you will never feel bad when things go wrong because deep down you know the problem is not with you.
Thats all
J
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