Jimmy Scott's High & Tight: The Matthew Vuckovich Interview

Here on the East Coast, in a state some of us call New Jersey, we are inundated with commercials from Geico.  You're probably familiar with this insurance company.  They did the famous Caveman ads, have ads now with a stack of cash with eyeballs affixed calling it "the money you could be saving with Geico."  On the radio, there are other ads that, to me, are extremely annoying.  They are of "your local Geico agent" who you run into at a bowling alley or your swimming pool.  He's there to help. 

Disgusting.

Wanna know my favorite kind of agent?  Yavold, it's the baseball agent.  Right here, right now, you're in for a real ear-treat.  Houston-based, baseball-only agent Matthew Vuckovich of Xclusive Sports Management sat down with me on the phone (he may have been standing, I'll never know for sure) to talk all about running a small agency for baseball players.  In 30 minutes, we covered some very interesting stuff:

1.  Why they focus only on baseball

2.  Who his partner is (Kyle Dison) and how his partner's (Kyle Dison) unique experiences help round out the agency.

3.  Who they have signed to them and how they've gotten those four players signed elsewhere.

4.  How to arrange a tryout for baseball scouts.

5.  What to do if other agents threaten you.

I think #5 probably pops out a little bit.  There's a great story Matthew tells about an event he and Kyle went to in Minnesota last year.  You see... Wait, why should I give it all away.  Listen to Matthew tell it.  Since he was there, he tells it better than I could write it.  So keep an ear out for that.

Xclusive Sports Management gets a good amount of love in this interview as well.  It is Matthew's company, after all.  If you're into brevity, you can call it XSM if you ever talk to him about it.  He'll know what you mean.  He'll also know how well the agency is doing and, if you were lucky enough to speak with him before the June, 2009 amateur draft, he'd tell you this:

"XSM is looking to have a very productive 2009 MLB Draft.  With less than 2 weeks remaining until the Draft, there has been talks about a couple of XSM advisee's sliding into the first 5 rounds of the Draft." 

Looks like Matthew & Kyle are in for the ride of their lives in a couple of weeks.

So now it's time for me to leave you in the good hands of Matthew Vuckovich, better than any Geico agent.  Because he's a baseball agent.  We can't ever hear enough from the good ones.

THE MUSIC

Bryan Adams - You Want It, You Got It

Joe Walsh - Rivers of the Hidden Funk

John Cougar  - Hand To Hold On To

Steve Winwood - While You See A Chance

The Eagles - King of Hollywood

Death Cab For Cutie - I Will Possess Your Heart

 The Who - Emminence Front

Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers - Breakdown

Stevie Ray Vaughan - Couldn't Stand The Weather

Dan Fogelberg - Face The Fire

Led Zeppelin - When The Levee Breaks

Pink Floyd - Us & Them