Every year, Mr. Borass puts out propaganda for his players. This year, it's much of the same. He overvalues his players and he looks like somebody who is clueless about baseball and the value a player contributes to a team.

 

This year though, he made leaps towards insanity by saying that Johnny Damon (his client) is comparable to Derek Jeter.

 

Not only is this a totally flawed statement in the world of casual baseball fans, it is also an extremely flawed statement in the world of sabermetrics.

 

Believe it or not, Derek Jeter had one of the best, if not the best, years of his professional career this past season. He had a wOBA of .390 and for the first time ever, an above average UZR, easily making Jeter one of the most valuable players in baseball this season. In fact, he only contributed one less win than Albert Pujols with a WAR of 7.4.

 

Now Johnny Damon is a good player. He's about as old as Jeter, gives good offensive production, but also plays horrendous defense. Plus, the fact that he plays a corner outfield position doesn't help his case in terms of value. His WAR this past season was a 3.0. That's a difference of 4.4 wins between him and Jeter, which is insane. For those who do not know about WAR, 1 win share accounts for 10 runs of production, which comes from both an offensive and defensive standpoint. Therefore, Jeter saved/created 44 more runs than Damon. With WAR, any player with a WAR of 4 or above is considered as a premier producer. Therefore, Jeter is literally a little more than twice the player that Damon is in terms of Wins Above Replacement.

 

So in terms of metrics, Jeter is far superior.

 

But what about in the casual sense? Derek Jeter is a future first ballot hall of famer. Call him whatever you want, it's going to happen and he actually does deserve it. So it's safe to say that even the most casual of fans would think of Boras as a crazy idiot.

 

I'm pretty sure that Boras is smart enough to know that what he's saying is totally false and he's just trying to lure some stupid GM into thinking this way. However, how many GMs are stupid enough to believe something like this? I think it's gotten to the point where if I'm a general manager, I am insulted by Boras' comments since they're basically aimed towards general managers. So if he thinks that I'm stupid enough to believe such rubbish, what is his perception of my baseball knowledge?

 

Hopefully, no GM falls into the Boras trap this off-season going after Holliday or Damon, especially Damon. I think this act is getting too old and he's crossed the line, even for the most casual of baseball fans and maybe even Brian Sabean.

Edited November 12, 200916 yr by chw42

It's his goal as the agent to do whatever it takes to get his players the most money possible. To the naked eye, the raw numbers are comparable, though Jeter has the edge. Call it shady or unethical but he is good at his job and gets his players a lot of money, and he's rich as hell because of it.

 

The average person knows Damon isn't better than Jeter, and that's why Damon isn't going to get $20 mill a year. He will get paid handsomely though, and that's all that matters to Boras.

Edited November 12, 200916 yr by witesoxfan

It's his goal as the agent to do whatever it takes to get his players the most money possible. To the naked eye, the raw numbers are comparable, though Jeter has the edge. Call it shady or unethical but he is good at his job and gets his players a lot of money, and he's rich as hell because of it.

 

The average person knows Damon is better than Jeter, and that's why Damon isn't going to get $20 mill a year. He will get paid handsomely though, and that's all that matters to Boras.

 

You mean isn't, right?

You mean isn't, right?

 

Yes, I just read that over and realized how funny that actually looks.

Yes, I just read that over and realized how funny that actually looks.

 

Cool. I was about to roast your ass. And I'm kinda buzzed.

I can't find the article referenced, but I read it yesterday and, from what I recall, Boras did not say Jeter and Damon were comparable. He said that Damon made Jeter better and that the Yankees are paying for more than just Damon's numbers, but Jeter's improved numbers with Damon in the lineup.

I can't find the article referenced, but I read it yesterday and, from what I recall, Boras did not say Jeter and Damon were comparable. He said that Damon made Jeter better and that the Yankees are paying for more than just Damon's numbers, but Jeter's improved numbers with Damon in the lineup.

 

So he's trying to say that Damon made Jeter...? That wasn't what I heard from the shows on ESPN (but then again, should I believe what they say?).

 

I guess you can argue that in a way, but I think New Yankee Stadium made Damon and Jeter better last year more than anything.

 

Plus, Jeter's improvement in fielding has nothing to do with Johnny Damon.

http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/j/jeterde01.shtml

 

BR have Damon as the 8th similar batter to Jeter and they both suck out loud on defense (even as a Jeter hater I will admit he was better this year, but the best in the league as a GG should indicate is a joke). Jeter would be worth more on paper because he plays SS over OF, but then you have to weigh his defense against his offense.

So he's trying to say that Damon made Jeter...? That wasn't what I heard from the shows on ESPN (but then again, should I believe what they say?).

 

I guess you can argue that in a way, but I think New Yankee Stadium made Damon and Jeter better last year more than anything.

 

Plus, Jeter's improvement in fielding has nothing to do with Johnny Damon.

 

Here is the link.

NY Post

 

He compared them over the past 3 seasons.

 

http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/j/jeterde01.shtml

 

BR have Damon as the 8th similar batter to Jeter and they both suck out loud on defense (even as a Jeter hater I will admit he was better this year, but the best in the league as a GG should indicate is a joke). Jeter would be worth more on paper because he plays SS over OF, but then you have to weigh his defense against his offense.

 

Even when you weigh his defense to his offense, which WAR does, Jeter has had a 4+ WAR 6 times out of the past 8 years. Damon's only done it twice since they began to record the stat in 2002.

 

As bad as Jeter has been on defense, Damon's been about as bad as an outfielder. He is much less valuable.

Edited November 13, 200916 yr by chw42

Here is the link.

NY Post

 

He compared them over the past 3 seasons.

 

Jeter contributed 6 more wins in that time than Damon, that's 2 more wins per season.

 

That's not comparable.