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Josh Kusnick is a Fort Lauderdale, Fla.-based agent who will periodically write about his experiences representing professional baseball players and media personalities.

The line between being a professional who is just doing his job and being a self-loathing stalker is dangerously thin in this industry. Every year that I have been an agent I have scouted kids younger and younger each year. When I started, I vowed I would never look at players younger than high school seniors. Over time, though, I started in on juniors, then sophomores, and now I have to look at freshmen. Yes, high school freshman get looked at by scouts and agents. I half expect to see Chris Hanson every time I show up at a game these days. I pray baseball doesn’t go the route of college football, because I don’t know what I would do if I had to start scouting Little League.

I honestly can't envision a time where I would be comfortable going into a family's home somewhere in Middle America and pulling a Nick Nolte-type move from Blue Chips where I have to answer whether I'm Southern Baptist or Northern Baptist. Over the last 10 years, that’s where this business has gone. We’re scouting children for financial gain.

Speaking of Blue Chips, I've always had one major qualm with that movie, which is amazing because I‘m sure if I watched it again I‘d have 1,000 more. One issue has baffled me in the 16 years since the film was released, so much so that I am completely blind to anything else wrong with the move. The casting director found Penny Hardaway and Shaq to play two fictional basketball recruits named Butch McRae and Neon Boudeaux.  However, when we finally get to see the token white recruit, who of course is a three-point specialist, the role was played by an actor. They literally could not find a white NBA player to play Ricky Roe. Not one! Not Tom Gugliotta, not Adam Keefe, not Rex Chapman, not even the most obvious pick, Christian Laettner. Evidently, the crew could not find a white NBA player with the acting chops to keep up with the epic performances of Shaq and Penny.

Anyway, the business of scouting has gotten uglier in the last 10 years, and it has gotten that way because of coaches, colleges, scouts, and agents. Kids play year-round now, and it’s alarming that many of them lose out on a great deal of their childhood because of the demands of their baseball schedules. College and pro teams do their homework on these kids years in advance in trying to gain a competitive edge. Meanwhile, many established agents have been forced into earlier recruiting in hopes of trying to curtail something very dangerous that has started happening in the industry in the last few years. I've seen people trying to break into the agent business attempt to do anything to try and land a client. The worst trend I've seen is kids as a young as 14 retaining advisors.

Retaining an advisor is obviously a personal choice and one can choose to get one at whatever point in time the family decides they need help. However, there is absolutely no good reason a freshman in high school should ever be talking to an advisor. Hiring an advisor as a freshman in high school is a one-way street. I wish more than anything that teams would not put families in a position where they feel the need to start the process sooner than they must.

There are good parts, however, to scouting when you're an agent. One thing I have learned in this business is you never close the book on any player while you’re scouting. If you’re at a game to see a certain player, you can't focus just on that player. I discovered two of my higher-profile clients completely by accident.

I attended Florida State University from December, 2001 to May, 2006. Florida State is located in Tallahassee, which is vastly different from Fort Lauderdale, the Florida city where I grew up. Tallahassee may be in Florida, but it’s more like South Georgia than anything. Tallahassee has a community college which is located two blocks from the apartment I rented while in school. The first time I ever visited Tallahassee Community College before I became a full-time agent, I had the pleasure of watching Chipola Community College in 2002. I had the opportunity to watch Adam Loewen, who had a ton of buzz because of the amount of money he turned down the previous June after being the fourth overall pick in the draft before eventually signing in May, 2002. I also got to watch one of Loewen's teammates, a lesser-known third baseman by the name of Russell Martin. Watching that game opened my eyes to something I was totally unaware of at the time. You can find viable professional prospects at the junior-college level.

 A few years later, I went back to TCC to scout players for my agency, which was still very much in its infancy. I did whatever internet research I could ahead of time and discovered there were several draft-and- follow players at both Chipola and TCC, who were playing each other that day. I specifically went to see Michael Saunders, now in the major leagues as an outfielder with the Mariners. I never got the chance to talk to him that day, because I was enamored by the center fielders on both clubs, Lorenzo Cain and Darren Ford. Both Darren and Lorenzo were drafted by the Brewers the previous year, and Milwaukee had the option to sign them up until the day of the 2005 draft. Since both players were drafted in the middle rounds, I figured neither was represented and it would behoove me to make contact with them.

 Starting out in this business, I had a problem with professionalism. It wasn’t because I had a lack of respect for the game or the people involved. It was because I had no idea what the hell it was that I was doing. I was still in college and working with my father trying to get our company off the ground. I would literally go to class then head to the games dressed in street clothes. Unfortunately, for me, the street clothes didn’t exactly scream “agent.” It is truly a miracle any player would talk to me then, much less hire me. The day I met Lorenzo and Darren, I was wearing dirty jeans that were completely torn at the heels and a Nirvana T-shirt. I looked more like a classmate than someone who could assist these young men's careers. After the game, I approached Darren first. Because he was on the visiting team, I figured he didn’t have much time to stick around before catching the team bus. I introduced myself, gave him a business card and all he kept saying was, “Call my Mom, I have nothing to do with this."That wasn’t real encouraging, especially since he was pretty much laughing at me the entire time. I figured that was the end of that and I made my way to the TCC locker room. I waited for Lorenzo for a good hour before he came out. I introduced myself, gave him the same talk I gave Darren, then presented him with my business card. I will never forget the look on Lorenzo's face the entire time I was talking with him. It was the "Where's Ashton?" look. I am fairly certain Lorenzo thought he was being punked by a teammate.

 One day about a month after I met both players, I get a phone call from an unfamiliar area code. I answered and the first thing I heard was, “What do you want to do with my baby!” It was the voice of a woman whom I have grown quite close with over the years. It was Darren's mother, Carla. I spoke to her for an hour and assured her I had nothing but the best intentions at heart when I contacted her son. I stayed in touch with Mrs. Ford for months until I finally got the good news that I was hired. Same situation happened with Lorenzo. I stayed in touch with Lorenzo and his mother until I finally got the good news that I was hired. And that’s what happens in this business. I went to a baseball game to see a player I didn’t even get a chance to talk to and eventually wound up being hired by two players that I now consider to be a part of my family. I have no idea what my life would be like if I didn’t have Darren and Lorenzo in my life, not only as clients, but as my friends. Darren and Lorenzo were the first two players to hire me out of college (I had signed several minor league players at that point in time) and now they’re both on their team's 40-man rosters, Darren with the San Francisco Giants and Lorenzo with the Brewers. It is a rewarding experience to be there for the entire journey that starts in college, and with a bit of luck and determination, ends in the major leagues.

 The second story I have about accidentally finding a player also happened at TCC and it all came from that first game I attended there. A major-league team had a pre-draft workout at TCC that May and I wanted to go to see what it was like. My father and I sat behind home plate next to a woman whose son was invited to the workout. We sat next to this woman totally by chance. We just wanted someone to talk to while we watched the workout. This woman told us all about her son and how his father was a former major-leaguer. As an agent, when you hear a player has a parent who played in the major leagues, you automatically assume that the family already has an advisor or agent. I learned quickly that this wasn’t the case with this player. So after the workout, I told my father to give this woman our business card. He initially resisted but I told him I'd kill him if he didn’t. Finally, Dad relented and told the woman, "Even though you probably don’t need this, my son said he’d kill me if I didn’t give you my card" The player and his mother were polite as could be. When it was over, they told us they appreciated the card and that they would be in touch. That player was Michael Brantley

That June, the draft came and went and we went about our business as usual. We had Darren Ford and Lorenzo Cain, both part of the Brewers; organization, playing in the minor leagues. Somehow, Michael was drafted by the Brewers. Because Michael joined the Brewers' farm system and was playing with Darren and Lorenzo, we were able to stay in touch with him over the years. As expected, Michael did not hire an agent and was being taken care of professionally by his parents, so, in his mind he had no use for my services. Even though Michael didn’t want to hire me, it didn’t impair our friendship. After Michael's third season I finally got the call I had been hoping for. I had two meetings set up, one with Michael and his mother, and one with Michael and his father, Mickey. Both meetings went well, and about a week later, I was hired.

So, one baseball game changed the course of my entire life. Because I went to scout Michael Saunders at TCC in January, 2005, I signed Michael Brantley, Lorenzo Cain, and Darren Ford. I have been there from the beginning for all three players, and now I get the ultimate reward of seeing them live their dreams up close and personal. Michael has a chance to be the opening-day left fielder for the Cleveland Indians this year, while Darren and Lorenzo both will likely make their major-league debuts sometime in 2010. I have lived up to every promise I have made to all three of these men. In return, they have stuck with my father and I the entire time. The ultimate reward for all the hard work I have done is knowing that I have made a positive impact in the lives of my clients. They aren’t just clients to me. These guys are my family. I know it’s a business, and while some agents prefer to set professional boundaries, I will never close myself off to any of my clients. They all know me from top to bottom. They know my strengths and faults. I give them my heart and soul and the only thing I ask in return is that they do everything in their power to take advantage of their tremendous opportunity to play professional baseball.

 

The author can be reached at JoshuaKusnick@aol.comand his blog can be found at http://39ontheline.blogspot.com/

Thank you for reading

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mymrbig
3/16
I really like these articles, thanks.
scorolen17
3/17
Thank You.
MKlotch
3/16
Ricky Roe aka Matt Nover was not an actor, but rather a former Indiana Hoosier basketball player who went on have a decent career playing ball in Eurpoe. Clearly, he did not have the star power of Penny and Shaq, but he did get some burn as a role player on some pretty good Indiana teams.
scorolen17
3/17
That is awesome and I am insanely happy to have learned this. (honestly, this is awesome).
ZacharyRD
3/16
This was a great hire for this set of articles - I like them so far.
scorolen17
3/17
I hope I dont let you down in future articles. Thank you for reading.
tdrury
3/16
I was watching Blue Chips this weekend and thinking it was funny that Matt Nover was sitting there with Nick Nolte watching game tape of Calbert Cheaney, who of course was his teammate at Indiana
scorolen17
3/17
That is even more awesome than anything previously mentioned.
hessshaun
3/16
Interesting story. It's sort of like a name dropping, moral of the story, and self promoting experience. I liked it.
scorolen17
3/17
I wasnt sure if name dropping was appropriate but most agents already know I have these guys so whatever. I figured putting names to a story would be better than the last nameless article. I hope the name dropping honestly didnt take away from the story.

Thanks for reading.
mymrbig
3/17
I thought the name dropping made the story more interesting. I didn't even view it as name dropping, its just part of the story. It also didn't feel like self promotion to me in the sense that you were self promoting via this article. Rather, self promotion is part of your job and this is an article about how your job (including some self promoting). I see no problems.
jnossal
3/16
I'm sure Mr. Kushnick is a nice fellow and all, but BP can kill this series now. The writing is poor, unfocused and, in the two articles I've read so far, largely lacking in any revelations about the work of a player agent. The worst aspect is the self-promoting nature of the pieces, there's just no objectivity at all, just a series of statements about what a great guy the writer is and how much he and his clients love each other. I understand his first responsibility must be to his clients and his livelihood and that it might not be wise to publish a truly honest accounting of his business; I'll just say I'm not particularly interested in reading agent spin.

I don't want to be too critical without offering alternatives, so here are some suggestions:

Why did you decide not to scout younger than high school seniors? Why did you break your own rule? Do you regret that or were you wrong about the senior rule in the first place?

Can the false apologies. Of course you are scouting children for financial gain. That's what you do. Same for every pro and college sport industry. You didn't create the system, so stop apologizing for it.

The entire paragraph about the black/white actors in Blue Chips has nothing to do with the rest of the piece and should have been dropped entirely.

On the allegation that scouting has gotten uglier, offer some specific examples, hopefully personal ones or at least that you observed directly.

Why shouldn't young kids retain an advisor? What are the pros and cons from your perspective?

The bit on your lack of a professional approach early in your career started well, but a written piece needs a beginning, middle and end. This one only has the beginning. What happened? When did you realize that you had to change your approach? Did you lose a client or did something else happen? Has a change to a more business-like approach made you more successful? Offer some specific examples, whether personal or what you've seen in the industry.

The description of how you've found clients by accident was somewhat interesting, but could have been cut to half its size. Again, we have a beginning, but no middle or end. Did those kinds of serendipitous meetings change the way you scout potential clients? How? Is this common or are you decribing an unusual event? Does this sort of thing ever go too far, for example, you get unnecessarily distracted from a targeted player who ends up signing elsewhere while you end up with a non-prospect or even no client at all?




ScottBehson
3/16
50% really good interesting insights
50% self-promotion

As a reader, I'm half satisfied, half feel like I'm being used.
scorolen17
3/17
100% real fruit juice.
scorolen17
3/17
Will take into consideration. Ill write what I feel I am able to and BP will edit as they please. All pop culture references will stay for I find them more interesting than my actual career.
scorolen17
3/17
What if the internet turned into a werewolf?
mymrbig
3/17
I think jnossal is a little harsh here, but the questions he poses are all very good to dig deeper into some of the topics you bring up.
skorpad
3/16
Nover should have won an Oscar.
scorolen17
3/17
5 oscars.
scorolen17
3/16
I write what I am able to discuss in a public forum and I feel like it's still more than what most people are willing to discuss. I'm sorry if it isn't enough but it is what it is. Thanks for reading.
greenday8885
3/16
I've enjoyed this series, any chance for an article about contract negotiations?
scorolen17
3/17
I am writing one now but its hard to do for a couple reasons. 1. I dont think it would behoove me to talk about people still in the industry that I have to work with.
2. The player is still active and I dont think he'd much enjoy his negotiations played out on the internet. The story is far better with names but I may give it a go without them. Ill leave it to the BP guys to decide.

J
mymrbig
3/17
You could always see if one of your players would mind being mentioned in that kind of story. I can see a player not wanting to be featured, but I can also see a player not having a problem with it. Or you could use 2 or 3 players generically to talk about how the negotiations went in different instances.
nosybrian
3/16
@Joshua: another fascinating look at the process and the personal side of this. Your writing is very clear and direct -- exactly what's called for here. You're an agent -- so nobody should be surprised if you're also presenting your own credentials to your readers.

In sum, don't pay too much attention to the critics here. These articles are quite golden.
scorolen17
3/17
Thank you very much.
pjbenedict
3/16
I too really appreciate this article and series. I look forward to more.
scorolen17
3/17
Thank you, there are several more coming...beware.....
Bodhizefa
3/16
Superduper fantastic article. It was a very enjoyable read, and it really puts a human touch on the agent. Best wishes for you and your "family" this year.
scorolen17
3/17
Im trying not to be a robot. Thank you.
silviomossa
3/17
I agree 100%. These "criticisms" remind me of the crap that Doug Glanville gets in his insightful NYT pieces, in that they are largely criticisms of the job (former MLB star/agent to the stars) instead of what is actually being written. So, as with Glanville's writings, I will continue to ignore Mr. Kusnick's writings on BP and just skip the comments. Nice job.
scorolen17
3/17
Please dont skip the writings and the comments :)
silviomossa
3/17
Ooops, I meant read the writings, skip the comments. I could use an editor myself, y'know.
Oleoay
3/16
I liked this article. It just goes to show how networking can pay off and it was fun to read.

As far as younger athletes and scouting Little League goes, I don't find it all that surprising considering how young kids from the Dominican league start playing for MLB academies and how young they get signed.

On the subject of African-American athletes, do agents talk at all about why there are less African-Americans playing baseball than their used to be? On athletes in general, how do agents approach whether an athlete should go pro or stay in college?
scorolen17
3/17
My company has developed a reputation for representing african american players and canadian players. I am pretty sure I have more canadian prospects than any company out there(11). Brantley,Cain,Ford,Caufield,Brewer,Jefferss,Jiwan James,Trayvon Robinson,Mike Durant, Josh Bell,Richie Lucas, Nick Tyson,James Tomlin.....so for me its never been an issue however with that being said I think the main reason the numbers are down in baseball is because of all the other options available to all kids now a days. Brewer was a 2 sport guy, Ford was a track guy, sometimes baseball isnt the first option and the other sports hurt baseballs numbers. Just a guess.

As far as college/hs debate, it comes down in my estimation the players maturity level on and off the field. If a player can handle the mental side of things at an advanced age and the tools are ready then go pro...if not wait and go to school. Sorry for the over simplified answer....
1005fahr
3/16
Having seen Josh on other fan sites and in other print media, he has been very self serving. He loves attention and puts himself on a pedestal because he hob nobs with players and has "insider" info. It's all entertaining stuff but buyer beware - he has his own (and his client's) interests at heart. Read the last paragraph of this article - it reads like a sales pitch to a prospect-to-be. I'd take anything he says with a grain of salt. You'll never get the whole story from Josh.
scorolen17
3/17
I am in no way shape or form on a pedestal. I am very much an unknown within the industry and I am well aware of that. I am also 27 years old, I grew up in the internet age and I much like the readers here am a fan in some small way too. I enjoy very much interacting with fans and its disappointing that some people misconstrue my desire to connect with fans as self serving. How many players actually read message boards, its not like I use it as a recruiting tool. I genuinely love the discussions and I am beyond grateful I have a forum to connect with even more fans here. I am not hiding anything and I am readily accessible. How many people in my position would post their direct contact information? Hell if anyone wants to call me Id talk to them directly. Take this for what it is and if you dont believe me then what can I do? Ive always prided myself on being open and honest and I guess some people will always doubt that.

J
LlarryA
3/16
Josh, I appreciate your efforts. The criticisms above do have some merit, and I hope you can use it constructively (whether it was intended that way or not...) in future installments. There are open questions left in your statements that I hope will eventually be answered. No one is expecting Pulitzer-caliber writing, and since I don't believe that BP is strictly rationing electrons, nobody should feel that your inclusion is depriving them of writing that is more to their tastes. I figure future articles will start to fill in the gaps and round out the picture of the world you live and work in that we don't see.
scorolen17
3/17
Noted, I mean I can only give up so much in a public forum. I mean I have posted my contact information if anyone has an questions beyond whats here. This is all new to me since I obviously am not a journalist. These are just things have happened to me in my career and I am trying to retell them as best I can because I think people would find my side of things interesting. Like one earlier poster said, take it for what its worth. I have had some very terrible things happen to me in my career, heartbreaking things and I am in no way trying to hide that. On the flip side I dont think I really want to write an entire column about what it felt like to get fired by a big leaguer. It's happened to me and it will probably happen again thats just the way this business is but I am doing the best I can to keep everyone happy. It's not easy, Im running on a 13 hour shift right now with 5 hours to go then I'm catching a flight home after 12 days in Arizona. Hopefully future columns are more up to everyones liking.

J
jtrichey
3/17
A critique of the critiques if you will: People, this isn't Prospectus Idol. BP has hired him to write some pieces, and I'm sure they are editing the pieces and in touch with the author about what they want. Stop acting like he is in a contest to win your hearts. If you like the articles, read on, if you don't, don't.
scorolen17
3/17
I would love to win Prospectus Idol.
nosybrian
3/17
On 2-sport kids, even kids with dads who were in MLB may choose another sport. But I suspect having a Dad with such experience gives kid some perspective, an edge understanding what it means to be involved in any pro sport.

One case that I know of is Jeff Petry, son of former Tigers pitcher Dan Petry. Jeff had to choose a couple of years ago whether to go with baseball or hockey. So now he's playing hockey (defense) for Michigan State University, but seems likely to leave after his junior year to play for the Edmonton Oilers.
scorolen17
3/17
I didnt know Jeff Petry was Dan's kid. Interesting.
Hairps
3/17
Thanks for writing these. An unrelated (to this article, at least) question:

I'm told that agents get a good number of their amateur recruiting leads from scout referrals. How does that work?
scorolen17
3/17
That is not something I rely on to do my job. I always listen to whats out there but i handle my own scouting and go from there.
mymrbig
3/17
Josh, out of curiosity, did BP reach out to you about the articles, did you reach out to BP, or was it a kind of mutual thing after being a "source" (apparently for KG)?
scorolen17
3/17
It seemed like an interesting enough opportunity for both sides because obviously if they didnt want me to do this, this wouldnt be happening. Mutual interest I suppose.
NathanJM
3/17
I don't get this whole notion of "self-serving" as a criticism. Or perhaps I don't get how people can be naive as to the similar self-serving interests of any other journalist (fame, reputation, a pay-check, future writing jobs, front office positions, political analyst jobs...). Obviously this is an exchange. Josh is offering us some insight into what agent life is like and in exchange has the opportunity to choose to write about what he likes about his job. Further, I'd imagine a huge part of that is as he says -- you don't know where you're going to stumble on your next client. So I would fully expect him to present himself here as he would to any of his prospective clients or their parents. By which I mean, like any other journalist or even commentor, he's not going to come out and shoot himself in the foot if he can help it. But whether you believe he's providing honest insight or a blend of truth and sales-pitch, this series is still insightful into what it's like to be an agent. And that I've enjoyed.
ScottBehson
3/17
This is well-said: "But whether you believe he's providing honest insight or a blend of truth and sales-pitch, this series is still insightful into what it's like to be an agent". Absolutely, I've enjoyed these articles very much

I simply stated that I would prefer more of the former and less of the latter.

IMO, statements like, "I have lived up to every promise I have made to all three of these men", "I will never close myself off to any of my clients. They all know me from top to bottom. They know my strengths and faults. I give them my heart and soul and the only thing I ask in return is that they do everything in their power to take advantage of their tremendous opportunity to play professional baseball" cross from first-person narrative to obvious self-promotion.
scorolen17
3/17
With all due respect and I keep seeing it..........who am I self promoting to? The BP subscription base? I dont need to do that and if anything whatever promotional value I get from here it's likely dwarfed by the amount of criticism Ive opened myself up to within the industry and I am well aware of that. I really do not feel this column is a total hose job and if its coming off that way Ill try harder to avoid that.
kensai
3/18
It's actually a fair point to ask who exactly he is preaching to. While this article is not behind a pay wall, his other one was, and I doubt many prospects subscribe to BP and read it religiously. The chances they will happen to stumble upon this and call him to beg for his services is somewhat remote, i'd think.

Just a thought.
kensai
3/18
Bingo.
scorolen17
3/18
Just wanted to get this to 50...
singy111
3/19
Great article, Im glad BP has offered to expand their articles to off the field stuff. Don't listen to the critics who are too negative, take it in stride. You can't always please everyone. Half of the critics probably have never stepped between the lines and are just bitter.
brucegilsen
3/21
Enjoyed the article, thanks! I guess it's not for everyone, but it give a perspective I haven't seen before and that makes it interesting.
scorolen17
3/23
thank you