Don’t tell Creative Artists Agency (CAA) that the company is #2 to anyone in any sport. They just don’t want to hear it. Even in baseball, where Scott Boras is known as the king of the diamond.
Jon Heyman of Sports Illustrated reported earlier this week that in a phone interview with CAA baseball agent, Joe Urbon, the agent stated that Jason Bay is “the most complete player on the market.” Quite a bold statement by Mr. Urbon, who was well aware that some guy named Matt Holliday is also a free-agent going into the 2010 season. Should Bay be given the edge because he had to compete in a very tough AL East while Holliday went from a mediocre AL West to a soft NL Central? It is true that Holliday did struggle quite a bit in the AL. He only hit 1 homerun in the first month of the 2009 season
Boras’ response: “Holliday is the only young complete free agent player available.” I added the emphasis. Interesting sly tactic by Mr. Boras, who subtly noted that his client, Holliday is 29-years-old, while Bay is 31-years-old. You better believe that this factor, alone, drives up Holliday’s price.
I think it is smart for Urbon to make comparisons between Bay and Holliday. It will only drive up the price of his client. Let’s just hope that this is not an Urbon vs. Boras competition that stems from past experiences like the notorious case of Tacoby Bellsbury!
