They're Number One

There have been superstars in the past whose relationship with the press and public was frequently contentious. Ted Williams comes to mind. He didn't really care what people thought of him until very late in life, when he had mellowed to the point that he could accept the adulation of an adoring public -- including every living baseball player -- which showered him with love at the All Star game in Boston. Even when he was spitting at the fans, they never seemed to hold Williams in as much contempt as they have in the cases of Barry Bonds and Alex Rodriguez because the Splendid Splinter never felt anyone owed him anything... or vice versa. He performed at the same high level all of the time out of a sense of professional pride and excellence not out of what he thought was his due.

The public reaction to Bonds requires little further analysis in this space. Baseball's greatest home run hitter (to date) is a pariah in many quarters. He felt the cheaters in baseball were getting all the praise and titles and he wanted his fair share. If that meant cheating, too, so be it. So Bonds bulked up, passed Mark MacGwire and Hank Aaron and went straight into oblivion. The celebration of his accomplishments lasted at two or three minutes beyond the fifteen minute minimum fame is supposed to guarantee these days.

Rodriguez is another matter. He and his agent Scott Boras incurred the wrath of MLB for announcing his decision to opt out of his contract with the Yankees, the richest in baseball history, on the eve of game 4 of the World Series. Nothing exceeds quite like the excess of upstaging the game's biggest event. In the case of Rodriguez and Boras, however, nothing is done without considerable calculation. The guess here is Boras had a few motives:

1. He wanted to push the Yankees to announce the naming of Joe Girardi before he announced his client's intentions, thus forcing them to feel the wrath. Uncharacteristically, a Steinbrenner led franchise refrained.
2. He wanted to put the Red Sox on notice that not only could they pursue A-Rod should Mike Lowell depart, they could have him at their arch rival's expense. Boras was willing to incur the Red Sox wrath because he wanted them to believe this is just business, not personal. The timing suggests it is both business and personal.
3. It also doesn't hurt that another opt-out client of his, J.D. Drew, signed with Boston last winter. Boras also represents Dice-K Matsuzaka and Jason Varitek. Translation: both parties know what and whom they are dealing with here.
4. At the very least Boras was announcing he and A-Rod were open for business immediately before any teams with an interest (the Angels and Dodgers are considered serious contenders) spend a nickel elsewhere. If you think that's far-fetched, keep in mind the Detroit Tigers have already traded prospects for Edgar Renteria, who fills in at short with Carlos Guillen moving permanently to first base. Retooling teams wait for no man or his agent.

A-Rod is just as disingenuous as his agent. All along he professed his love of New York only to dump them at the first opportunity. Consider all his protestations of love more than just another bargaining ploy. He timed his decision for maximum impact in the press and on the team. If players like Mariano Rivera, Jorge Posada and Andy Pettitte were on the fence about returning if Joe Torre was fired, how are they going to feel about their biggest rbi guy leaving?

Meanwhile, some team out there can now sign Rodriguez for ten years at $30 million per and watch him march towards Barry Bonds' record, 3000 hits and maybe even that elusive World Championship. They can have all of that and a teammate who puts himself first. It's worth noting A-Rod has never meant the difference between winning and losing at any stop along his major league career.

Boras and his clients have been indifferent to public opinion for a long time. They aren't the first nor the last though it can be fairly said they have perfected the "art." This latest decision to have Rodriguez opt out of his contract simply underscores the reality that their interests are best served by worrying about numero uno, The question remains, however, which of these two -- the superstar agent or the superstar player -- can claim that title?