The first pick in that draft, pitcher Kris Benson, signed for $2 million. White signed for $10.2 million, and that was 28 years ago.

"Do you understand that, in today's draft, no one gets $10 million?" Boras said.

The first pick in last year's draft, Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Paul Skenes, signed for $9.2 million. (The league-recommended bonus for the first pick in this year's draft is $10.6 million; for the majority of the 30 teams, the league-recommended bonus total for all 20 drafted players is less than $10.6 million.)

The league and most of its owners, of course, much prefer a draft to the prospect of the Dodgers and Yankees staging bidding wars for the very best prospects. However, White signed with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. The lesson — at least for Boras — is that owners have successfully devalued amateur players in part by forcing them to negotiate with one team instead of all 30.

That point — and many of the points Boras makes every year — are not well received by fans. He gets it.

"Be a parent," Boras said. "What do you want for your son?"

Huh?

"You want the best for your son," he said. "You want him to have the best medical care. You want him to have the best information. You want him to have the best legal team behind him. This is what we provide.

"You go to the hospital, you're going to want the best doctors. When you go into this, when you're a parent, we expect you to think that way."

And the point is?

...continued

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