The son of a Sacramento dairy farmer, with a passion for baseball and a desire to become a legal department employee for a pharmaceutical company, the career of Scott Boras eventually took the path of becoming the most successful sports agent in baseball history, and one of the most accomplished within the overall sports industry.
Born in Sacramento, CA, the 71-year-old grew up on the family’s dairy farm in nearby Elk Grove. A strong work ethic and self-discipline was established early with his daily routine and responsibilities.
Boras pursued his desire to play baseball while attending the University of the Pacific and made the team as a walk-on. Inducted into the Pacific Athletics Hall of Fame in 1995, his name remains in the Top 10 of several batting categories. He was a student-athlete, team captain, and All-American. In 2010, Boras was awarded UOP’s Distinguished Alumni Award, an award recognizing individuals whose outstanding achievements and service to humanity have brought credit to the university
Upon completion of his collegiate career, Boras played Minor League ball as both an infielder and outfielder with the St. Louis Cardinals (1974-77) and Chicago Cubs (1977-78) organizations. Selected as an All-Star in the Florida State League in 1976, his professional career would be cut short due to persistent knee problems.
During his tenure at UOP, he earned a PHMD in Industrial Pharmacology, and post career, his Juris Doctor degree from the University’s McGeorge School of Law in 1982. He initially combined his two degrees after completing Law School by serving as an associate in the pharmaceutical defense department of a highly regarded Chicago firm.
Boras’ journey into player representation began innocently enough when asked by former teammate, Mike Fischlin, for assistance with his contract. And later, another teammate, former MLB closer and Minor League teammate Bill Caudill, asked him to represent his position in arbitration. Caudill eventually signed a lucrative five-year contract with the Toronto Blue Jays, making him the sixth-highest paid player in the American League. And so, the transition from medical litigation to player representation began.
Named as the World’s Most Powerful Sports Agent by Forbes for the eighth time in nine years in 2023, and the World’s Most Powerful Baseball Agent for the 10th consecutive year, he established the Boras Corporation in 1980. The operation consists of four companies dedicated solely to the service of baseball players. The Boras Corporation, Boras Marketing, Boras Sports Training Institute and Personal Management Consultants simplify the complex issues, including on and off field decisions, that confront players and their families.
Throughout his career, Boras has negotiated 16 record-breaking contracts and 34 agreements totaling at least $100 million. He owns the most salary arbitration victories (21) in Major League history and has advised 177 players selected in the 1st round of the annual Amateur Draft, including 13 number one picks. Boras is also the only sports agent to have negotiated over a billion dollars in free-agent contracts and has done so three times.
With the recent selection of Adrián Beltré to the Hall of Fame Class of 2024, Boras has now represented four HOFers (Beltre, Greg Maddux, Ivan Rodriguez, and Roberto Alomar). Boras and his team’s evaluation of talent has also seen the representation of 13 Most Valuable Players, 11 Cy Young winners, 13 Rookie of the Year recipients, 101 Gold Glove winners and 97 Silver Slugger honorees.
But aside from the noteworthy facts above, he is perhaps proudest of the continued efforts of the Boras Foundation, which believes in helping amateur players succeed and exposing them to elite coaching and competition. The Foundation’s mission is to create an environment where players are uninhibited by financial constraints that can create roadblocks to the growth of a young athlete.
The Foundation oversees The Boras Classic, a premier high school baseball tournament in California and Arizona where top schools are invited to play in a week-long tournament. The Boras Foundation is committed to helping inner-city and minority athletes showcase their skills on a platform that exposes them to collegiate and professional scouts. Through the Foundation’s efforts over 2,000 athletes have received over $300 million in Division l scholarships, a proud marker in the storied history, as Boras is a big advocate for education and using sport as a means for access.