Some parts of my day have consisted of being in the office or traveling to games.  The time spent so far in the office has consisted of making phone calls and reading NCAA eligibility rules and amateur rules that apply to players going into an MLB draft.  For the most part, NCAA eligibility rules are very straight forward with players opting to enter the MLB draft.  Any player who is in high school, Junior College, or University will lose their amateur status as a player if they sign any contract with a professional team or sports agent.  Any player that commits to an agent is only providing a verbal agreement to allow them to represent them.  The player cannot sign a contract with an agency while under the jurisdiction of the NCAA.  By signing a contract with an agency or professional team, the player will no longer be eligible to participate in any baseball program that is part of the NCAA.  The term “Amateur” refers to players who have never been signed to a contract under a professional team that provides compensation to the player.  Eligibility rules are a little different.

            Players can be eligible for the MLB draft if they are a high school senior, in their second year at a junior college, or turn 21 before the draft or within sixty days of the completion of the MLB draft.  These rules will further be related to different tactics agents use when deciding on whether a player should sign out of high school or continue on to college.  

Building a relationship with coaches is probably the most important resource to have when recruiting prospects.  If you think about it, these players play under a coach for at least one year.  Players will become comfortable with their coaches and value their knowledge and experience in the game.  More times than not, a player will refer to a coach every time when in the position where they must either decide on whether to go pro or not, or on which agency to have represent them.  If you have a good relationship with a coach, they will back you when their player asks them if they should sign with you.  Another advantage of having a relationship with a coach is when you need to meet a player on their team.  There are coaches that will not let you speak with their players around the field.  Having this type of coach on your side will allow you access players that other agencies normally would not have access to.  

My final thoughts on my first ever draft as part of an agency is that it is an exhausting process.  There were a ton of ups-and-downs in a three day period that I think my head was close to spinning.  At one moment you had the dreams of your players coming true, and the next it is far from happening.  You have a large offer on the table one minute only to have it reduced the next.  I am not sure what to think, but I know that I agree with the fact of leaving the player out of the communication during the draft just based on the notion of not causing added stress to their lives.  It would be a difficult task to have your career at stake while having to answer well over a hundred text messages from scouts telling you that you are worth this amount and then retracting that statement and wondering if less money should be taken so the opportunity is not lost.  I am appreciative of 7 Sports Group educating their prospects on why they should not get involved with the draft conversations. I will say that MLB scouts and GM’s do not care as much for the player as they say they are. The speed in which money was offered and taken away was astonishing.  I think I would lose years off my life each year I was involved in the draft.  The toughest part now is that the draft is over and now the negotiating starts.  From what I hear, these scouts want to meet with the player right now in order to try and get them signed.  Plus, they are expected to try and negotiate a lower bonus offer than what was stated during the draft.  So, not only will try to get you to agree to a lower offer, but they will still try and lower that offer even after they have drafted you.  Congratulations on being drafted, but I need you to take less money.  Really??

There are several opinions on whether or not having a successful client base as an agency is useful in recruiting amateur players or current professional players.  Of course, larger agencies who have a long list of professional clients can be perceived as being successful since all their clients stuck with them this far in their careers.  Being an agent is relationship based and this can be validated by the amount of clients you have currently.  Agencies with bigger name players will have an advantage over smaller agencies who only a few clients based on perception from the prospects and their players.  The most common question I have been asked so far is “What other big leaguers do you represent?”  If your answer is a truthful one and you say “I don’t have any”, the conversation will quickly be ended.  This is especially true when speaking with high school players.  High school players want to be a part of an agency that they can tell their friends about the other clients you have they can see on the television.  They don’t want to say the agency they are with and have their teammates respond with that they have never heard of them.  The only way to get around this issue is be a better communicator and educate the player on what to expect during the draft and how the process works.  This will help with gaining the players’ trust in that you will do whatever is in the best interest of him. 

            7 Sports Group is a smaller boutique agency who just getting into baseball.  They do not notable players on their client list that you can see playing on TV.  One thing they can offer that most large agencies struggle with is personalized service to their clients.  The larger the agency the more clients they have to manage, which means you may not always be able to get a hold of your agent to answer your questions.  These players want to feel that they are your most important client and that you are doing everything for them.  So, do you think an agency with a very notable client list to sell the agency to you is better than a smaller agency?  I guess we will have to wait and see what the end result is.