Murray Chass compares and contrasts the styles of Scott Boras and Joe Mauer’s agent, Ron Shapiro.

If Mauer were a Boras client, he would not have signed that contract. But then, he wouldn’t have chosen Boras as his agent.

Agents have track records, and players gravitate to the agent whose negotiating style suits their needs and desires. If they want to get every last dollar, don’t mind putting up with possible controversy and aggravation, don’t care how long it takes and don’t care where they play, hire Boras. If they care about where they and their family will be happiest and most comfortable and will settle for less than the absolute last dollar, go with Shapiro.

I’ll just add that my guess is the MLBPA likes Boras a lot more than Shapiro. When one player sets a new level of salary, everyone in the union benefits. I have heard from reporters over the years that often the union encourages players to go on the market to push salaries higher.