Orioles hire former Red Sox senior advisor Jeremy Kapstein as consultant to GM Dan Duquette

[xian4]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">The Orioles have hired former Red Sox senior advisor Jeremy Kapstein as a consultant to GM Dan Duquette.</p>— Nick Cafardo (@nickcafardo) <a href="

">December 7, 2015</a></blockquote>

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[WEAVERMAN]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">The Orioles have hired former Red Sox senior advisor Jeremy Kapstein as a consultant to GM Dan Duquette.</p>— Nick Cafardo (@nickcafardo) <a href="

">December 7, 2015</a></blockquote>

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And now that BOS has thrown Larry Lucchino overboard, maybe can get him back.

[Frobby]

Jerry Kapstein is the "yellow headphone guy" we always saw sitting about 10 feet to the right of home plate at Fenway. http://www.thepostgame.com/blog/balancing-act/201310/jeremy-kapstein-boston-red-sox-fenway-park-home-plate-headphones-mlb

[backwardsk]

Is he left-handed?

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[justcompete]

Is he left-handed?

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Throws Right

[spiritof66]

I hope his full title isn't Consultant on Selecting and Retaining Rule 5 Picks.

[Dr. Unk]

They're getting the band back together?

Forget it. Mr. Fabulous is the Maitre'd at the Chez Paul. He's pulling down six bills a week. Matt Guitar Murphy opened a soul food restaurant with his old lady on Maxwell Street and he took Blue Lou with him. You'll never get Matt and Mr. Fabulous outta them high paying gigs.

Bring me four fried chickens and a Coke.

[25 Nuggets]

So... this guy is baseball's version of Ernie Adams? Interesting.

[ReclaimTheCrown]

Jerry Kapstein is the "yellow headphone guy" we always saw sitting about 10 feet to the right of home plate at Fenway. http://www.thepostgame.com/blog/balancing-act/201310/jeremy-kapstein-boston-red-sox-fenway-park-home-plate-headphones-mlb

Hilarious. That guy always cracked me up for some reason. Always assumed he an old retiree that really liked baseball. Had no idea he was an employee.

[mdbdotcom]

Here's a section on Kapstein from a Hardball Times article on player agents who became legends.

Jerry Kapstein was one of the first player agents to really make a name for himself in baseball. He had always been fascinated with sports, and immersed himself in statistical analysis, even while finishing up his law degree at Harvard. He eventually started working for ABC as a “stats man” and became a color commentator for Washington Bullets games. This garnered him the name of “Statstein”.

When salary arbitration came on the scene in MLB, Kapstein was able to use his interest in statistics along with his background in law. Starting in 1974, Kapstein prepared Ken Holtzman’s first salary arbitration case, and while working on that case, landed Darold Knowles and Rollie Fingers of the A’s. Jerry was going up against Charlie Finley, someone notorious for brow beating the opposition through pure bluster. Finley then tried using that bluster when presenting his case before the arbitrator. Kapstein launched back at him with a mountain of stats. In the three cases, Kapstein used thirty different exhibits to make his case. And by making his case, he walked out winning all them for the A’s players.

Word spread around about Jerry’s work on the three cases, and his clientele grew. Remember, this was 1974—free agency, and the salaries associated with change had not yet come to pass. By 1976, Kapstein had landed 60 clients.

He wasn’t flashy by any stretch. He always wore the same corduroy jacket and drove a 1973 Pontiac Grand Prix. He took care of all the players needs and logged over 100,000 air miles a year tending to his stable of star players. General managers hated him. As Reds’ general manager, Dick Wagner recalled, “He almost hypnotized his players.” Wagner actually got rid of some of Kapstein’s clients on the Reds, just to get rid of Kapstein.

And it wasn’t just management that had issues with Kapstein. Even the main advocate for the players, Marvin Miller took issue with how he worked, especially over contracts he negotiated for Rick Burleson, Carlton Fisk, and Fred Lynn of the Red Sox in 1976. In that instance, Kapstein had worked five-year contracts for the players, but the catch was that they gave up the players rights to free agency when those contacts expired by attaching a “right of first refusal” clause. In effect, it would reverse free agency by making it so all the Red Sox had to do was match any offer. As Miller said to Fisk when trying to explain his position, “Look, you and Kapstein can stand on your heads for all I care. I’m representing all 600 players, and you, Burleson, and Lynn are not to have something in your contact that jeopardizes the other 597!”

He was the first “super agent” and he came with the quirks. He wouldn’t take calls, but only return them. He wouldn’t put anything in writing. Heck, he didn’t even have an office. No, the first super agent in baseball conducted his work from the fourth floor of a bank building in Providence, RI.

[DrungoHazewood]

Here's a section on Kapstein from a Hardball Times article on player agents who became legends.

Wagner actually got rid of some of Kapstein’s clients on the Reds, just to get rid of Kapstein.

It still amuses, intrigues, and annoys me to read about the lengths owners would go in the 70s and 80s to avoid paying players. They really thought it was their God-given right to set player salaries to whatever level they wanted. I know some teams might try to avoid some agents today, but could you imagine if the Orioles just traded all their Boras clients so they didn't have to deal with Boras?

I suppose it's easy with 20/20 hindsight, but it seems inevitable they were going to lose, and badly. In the mid-80s they were still thinking "hey, if we hold out long enough and have just the right strategy we can make this insane 'free agency' thing the passing fad we all know it is."

[Pickles]

I wonder what this guy's roles supposed to be.

A player agent who cut his teeth w statistics and negotiation in the 70s and 80s, wouldn't seem to bring a lot to the table today.

I suspect this is DD giving a job to a mentor.

Hopeful, we can at least gain some insight into the Red Sox' operation.