Scott Boras essentially lives in the heads of MLB ownership completely rent free. If there is anything that they can blame Boras for, ownership and the league will find a way to do so. High salaries, increased ticket prices, and everything that is wrong with the game is Boras’ fault if the owners are to be believed.
And now, the Boras Boogey Man has taken another form. If the owners are to be believed, they are not negotiating a new Collective Bargaining Agreement with the Player’s Union – it is really Boras who is behind the curtain.
Baseball faces its greatest labor crisis since the World Series was canceled in '94. The owners are increasingly convinced Tony Clark and Bruce Meyer have had their power neutered and that owners are actually negotiating against the hidden hand of the game's top agent Scott Boras https://t.co/9FllQyfFfL
— Michael S. Schmidt (@nytmike) February 7, 2022
MLB continues their incredible paranoia of Scott Boras
Maybe it just feels like the league is negotiating against Boras. The Union has made concessions, and the owners have essentially made the same offer they made at the beginning of these talks. When that was not good enough, the league requested federal mediation which the players refused, as is their right.
But that is not how the league operates. It is much easier for them to blame someone who legally cannot be at the table without any authority to reach an agreement than it is for them to imagine that the players are unified due to their abject hatred for Rob Manfred.
Likewise, Boras is a convenient scapegoat in their quest to get public perception on their side. Fans are not particularly fond of the super agent, especially as his players rarely sign extensions and he looks to get every last cent possible for his clients. But that is exactly what the players under his agency pay him for.
Meanwhile, the league just continues to look completely ridiculous with each passing day. Their refusal to make counteroffers after saying they would, blaming the players when they have not negotiated in good faith, and now blaming Boras for the impasse shows how rudderless they are. It is not a surprise that the great sport of baseball is losing popularity with such inept leadership.
MLB has found something new to blame for their labor impasse. According to the league, Scott Boras is secretly running the Player’s Union.