Scott Boras is not only the most prominent agent in baseball, but he’s also a very polarizing figure. It appears he has the best intentions with his upcoming endeavor, though.
Boras plans to open a private, multimillion dollar sports fitness center for his clients who train in South Florida, according to FOXSports.com’s Ken Rosenthal. The center is expected to be open by next year, and it seems somewhat obvious that Boras’ goal is to protect his clients from being exposed to performance-enhancing drugs.
“There has been recently an unusual frequency of Latin players who have been subjected to rogue information and to individuals portraying themselves to be medically trained when they’re not,” Boras reportedly said.
“We want to make sure we’re making every effort to advance the credibility and understanding of what major league players must abide by and also to protect them from the influences of many of these supposed medical practitioners who are availing themselves to the players.”
The use of PEDs has been a problem in baseball for years, and a recent Miami New Times report has led to even more controversy regarding the topic. Records from a South Florida clinic, which was run by Anthony Bosch, reportedly included the names of a number of MLB players. Among the players reportedly listed in the records is Alex Rodriguez, who is one of Boras’ clients. Boras has also represented other players over the years who have been linked to steroids in some way, shape or form, including Barry Bonds and Manny Ramirez.
Boras reportedly said that he had no knowledge of any of his clients using PEDs, and he began warning players of the drawbacks of such substances during the late 1990’s.
“My answer to this is that we’re only as good as the information that we have,” Boras reportedly said. “These processes [at the training centers] are designed to further the communication, the understanding and our knowledge so we can do our best to promote the integrity of the game, advance the careers of players and also allow the teams that employ them to have a greater sense of trust and understanding about players.
“My belief is that all of us are accountable. We all — and I’m talking about myself, union officials, owners, club personnel — we all could have done a better job. But I always say the best thing we can do is learn from the situation and then take aggressive steps to ensure that we’re doing everything possible to advance the integrity of the game.”
Boras clearly wants the game cleaned up. And while it might be a near impossible feat to make the game 100 percent clean, it’s definitely a positive that such a powerful figure is joining the fight.
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