OPINION

By Jim Litke

updated 9:12 p.m. ET Jan. 5, 2007

Jim Litke

Santa Claus probably never got a wish list from uberagent Scott Boras. Otherwise, he would have gone out of business a long time ago.

Boras suckered Rangers owner Tom Hicks into giving Alex Rodriguez $252 million for 10 years, the richest — not to mention dumbest — contract in pro sports. Then he talked Hicks into an even worse deal, $65 million over five years, for Chan Ho Park.

And that was just a few years after convincing the Los Angeles Dodgers to make Kevin Brown — rhymes with breaking down — baseball’s first $100-million player.

Based on those three deals alone, you’d think owners would run in the other direction at the first hint that Boras was in the same area code. Think again. He just convinced the San Francisco Giants to hand Barry Zito the richest pitching deal ever, $126 million for seven years.

“A lot of money,” is how Mark Ellis, Zito’s former teammate in Oakland, described it. “I was shocked. That’s great for him.”

And great for Boras, who pockets about 5 percent in commission.

And how about Giants boss Peter Magowan?

If history is any guide, he’ll have plenty of time to regret it.

Nothing against Zito, who was probably the best pitcher on the market. He’s only 28, with a 102-63 record, and he’s durable. After starting 14 games in his rookie season, Zito has started at least 34 games and logged 210-plus innings for each of the past six.

On the other hand, if he wins 18 games every season over the life of the deal, Zito is still costing the Giants $1 million for each one. And it’s far from a certainty.

Giants sign Zito      Shot to play with Bonds gives Zito ‘chills’ Expert: Zito wanted money, not titles Celizic: A risk worth taking |   Discuss Agree or Disagree: Unit likely to stay Opinion: Boras can get blood out of turnip Robinson's blog: Everybody wins Hot stove: What to expect in offseason Send in question for MLB expert

Since the start of divisional play in 1969, an even dozen pitchers have won at least 126 games over a seven-year span and here are a few of them: Steve Carlton, Roger Clemens, Randy Johnson, Greg Maddux, Jim Palmer and Tom Seaver.

One pitcher who didn’t come close: Brown, who went 72-45 over the seven years of his deal.

Another Boras client who might not win that many games in 14 seasons: Park, who went 33-33 over the life of his Rangers contract.

INTERACTIVE By MSNBC.com's Tony DeMarco

Boras has carved out something of a specialty in handling pitchers, the way agent Leigh Steinberg once cornered the NFL market for promising quarterbacks. The really good ones land in Boras’ lap because they’re looking for one big deal, not for a life partner, like the fictional Jerry Maguire. And despite being labeled “the most hated man in baseball,” Boras is nothing like the real-life Drew Rosenhaus, who rarely departs the negotiating table without a storm cloud or two brewing above his head.

What Boras offers his clients beyond a proven track record is credibility. He played the game. He’s a former minor-league second baseman-outfielder who never made it past Double-A, and gave up trying after three knee surgeries. In what would prove to be an indicator of his bargaining skills, he then talked the Cubs into picking up his tuition bills at law school.

Slide show   Week in Sports Pictures Pain on the skating rink, flying high on the hardwood, upsets on the football field, and more. more photos

His first big deal came while representing one of his former teammates, pitcher Bill Caudill, who signed with Toronto for five years and $7.5 million. In what would prove to be a minor theme running through Boras’ client list even years later, Caudill was cooked three years into the deal, forced to retire at age 31 because of arthritic shoulders.

Exactly what makes Boras such a formidable negotiator is something only major league owners know, and embarrassment has so far restrained them from sharing the information. He’s well spoken, doesn’t yell a lot and the booklets he’s become famous for preparing rarely contain anything beyond a player’s stats and Boras’ wildly optimistic predictions about the future.

So just for fun, we turned the table around. We assembled an imaginary team made up of Boras clients to measure the value of some of his deals. We moved several starting pitchers into the bullpen, included Daisuke Matsuzaka’s posting fee as part of his contract total and made some assumptions regarding the average annual values of contracts and likely outcomes in arbitration hearings.

Here it is:

Starting pitchers ($74.3 million)

Barry Zito: $18.0 million
Daisuke Matsuzaka: $17.0
Kenny Rogers: $8.0
Kevin Millwood: $12.0
Greg Maddux: $10.0
Jarrod Washburn: $9.3

Relievers ($29 million)

Eric Gagne: $6.0
Ron Villone: $4.0
Jeff Weaver: $10.0
Derek Lowe: $9.0

Catchers ($20 million)

Ivan Rodriguez: $10.0
Jason Varitek: $10.0

Infielders ($47.6 million)

Alex Rodriguez, ss: $25.0
Adrian Beltre, 3b: $12.8
Mark Teixeira, 1b: $7.8
Alex Cora, 2b: $2.0

Outfielders ($42.5 million)

Johnny Damon: $13.0
Carlos Beltran: $17.0
Andruw Jones: $12.5

Reserves ($40.0 million)

J.D. Drew: $4.0
Magglio Ordonez: $12.5
Joe Crede: $4.0
Brad Wilkerson: $5.0
Corey Patterson: $4.0
Willy Tavares: $0.5

TOTAL: $253.4 million

The first thing you notice is that this is one good team.

The next is that it represents a 28 percent increase over the $198.7 million the Yankees paid their 25-man roster on opening day last season.

Happy New Year, Mr. Boras.

MORE FROM BASEBALL

Baseball Section Front

Roberto Alomar, Larkin, McGriff on Hall ballot MLB offseason no longer a time to rest Jays sign SS Gonzalez to 1-year deal CTB: ‘Voice of the Yankees’ officially retires Sosa sued for $203,000 in Dominican court Opinion: Who needs Roy Halladay the most? CTB: Red Sox putting on press for Halladay CTB: Andruw Jones a great pickup for White Sox Complete list of free agents Circling the Bases: Blogging on news, rumors, buzz   Baseball Section Front   Add Baseball headlines to your news reader: