St. Louis Post-Dispatch
June 1, 2003

Morris Knows Well What Speaking Up for One's Self Can Do

By Rick Hummel

Atlanta Braves star Gary Sheffield, who is in the last year of his contract, has dismissed noted agent Scott Boras and says he will negotiate his next contract himself, a la the Cardinals' Matt Morris, who negotiated a three-year, $27 million deal before the 2002 season.

Morris said he would do it again and suggested that more high-salaried players might follow Sheffield. But general manager Walt Jocketty said he didn't see a trend coming.

"You just avoid the middle man," Morris said. "But it depends on your situation. I was coming off a good season (22 wins) and I had a good rapport with the organization. Middle-of-the-road (salary) guys may benefit more with an agent so they can squeeze out some more dollars."

Having been his own representative, Morris can have more contact with management than the normal player.

"I can go up to Walt's office and we can talk about the team and our finances and how I can help out and give back so we can improve the team," Morris said.

With recent injuries, especially to second baseman Fernando Vina, Morris said he has made a proposal to defer some more money.

"Just having that kind of relationship helps out in the long run," Morris said. "Walt has always seemed like a family guy with me. He's helped me through a lot of situations including my elbow (injury) and having a lot of down time."

When he went out on his own, Morris said, he got considerable help from his fiancee (now wife) Heather Reader, who was able "to not make me sound too cocky. It's a tough thing to sell yourself."

Morris said the Cardinals' initial offer was a good one. "We just kind of edited what they had" proposed, he said. "If it had been something that I thought was unfair, then I would have had to get an agent. But it just so happened their proposal was something that I really liked."

Jocketty said, "I wasn't going to (insult) him."

Morris expected some backlash from other players or the Major League Baseball Players Association.

"I thought more people would be angry or bitter about me doing my own (contract negotiations) or what I did to the market," he said. "The closer I got to signing the deal the more nervous I got. I was saying, 'Am I doing the right thing or not?' As it turned out, it was the best thing I did."

Morris said he would be watching with interest what Sheffield does without Boras. "Usually, it's the other way around," Morris said. "People start getting to the end and panicking, and they try to get Boras."

Sheffield told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, "Like I told Scott, nothing personal. I will say he wasn't happy. But it's something I thought about for a long time. I don't need anybody to represent me."

Morris was among the first prominent players to negotiate his own contract since former Cardinals catcher Ted Simmons some 20 years earlier.

Simmons said it wasn't hard working without an agent.

"The players association gives you the comparable salaries (for position and service time)," he said. "If you wanted help, you could hire the top lawyers in Washington or Philadelphia. Let's say they charged $1,000 an hour, which they probably don't. And let's say they worked 30 hours, which it probably wouldn't take either.

"At the most, that would be $30,000. Or they might even pay you that much to say they helped negotiate a contract for a famous player.

"So, let's say you're Sheffield and you've signed a $50 million contract. Five percent of that for an agent is $2.5 million. Or you could do it for $30,000."

Or, in Morris' case, nothing.