Newport Beach’s Boras, Gilchrist among honorees at inaugural OC Sports Awards
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ANAHEIM — As high profile as he is, Newport Beach-based sports agent Scott Boras is often behind the scenes when he negotiates deals for his baseball player clients.
Boras, sitting in the front row at Dodger Stadium, ended up on television during Sunday night’s Dodgers game against the visiting New York Yankees after snagging a ninth-inning foul ball.
“I told ESPN, has your programming gotten to the level where you’re going to interview some guy catching a foul ball?” Boras joked in an interview Tuesday night.
“You know, baseball has given me everything I have. It’s frankly a very small community, when you think about it.”
Two nights later, Boras was again in the spotlight about 30 miles south on the 5 Freeway. He was at Angel Stadium for the inaugural OC Sports Awards, where he received the Lifetime Achievement award.
Boras, 72, has negotiated nearly $4 billion in contracts for his clients over the years and doesn’t appear to be slowing down. Just last year, client Juan Soto signed a $765-million contract with the New York Mets, the largest in sports history.
Longtime Boras client and Hall of Fame pitcher Greg Maddux was on hand Tuesday to present Boras with his award at the event hosted by the Orange County Sports Commission.
Boras seemed to appreciate Maddux being there, noting his extensive durability — 355 wins during a 23-year Major League Baseball career, including 17 straight seasons with at least 15 wins.
He’s also proud of his namesake Boras Baseball Classic, which has had more than 500 participants hear their names called in the Major League Baseball draft, including four No. 1 overall picks.
“[Maddux] taught me how to manage greatness,” Boras said during his acceptance speech. “Managing greatness is so difficult, because the athlete is invincible, and yet you have to give them advice and counsel to protect them. You have to have the courage to approach greatness and let them understand the word, ‘No.’”
Newport Beach’s Kaleigh Gilchrist was another local honoree at the OC Sports Awards. The former Newport Harbor and USC women’s water polo star, a three-time Olympian and two-time gold medalist, received the Evolution Award.
Gilchrist, also a standout surfer, retired from water polo and married Tom Gehret last August, following the completion of the Paris Olympics, where Team USA placed fourth. Gehret also attended Tuesday’s event.
Gilchrist, 33, said she is trying to figure out what’s next. She does have an opportunity to be the director of surf operations at the Snug Harbor Surf Park, which has been proposed at the Newport Beach Golf Course.
“We still have to get [the facility] passed by council, but hopefully, if all things go as planned, we’ll be open by spring of 2028,” she said. “It’s obviously a dream job. Wave pools are popping up everywhere, and I think they’re going to be the next best thing of surfing. To be involved from day one to when it’s open would be really special.”
Former Mater Dei High, USC and NFL quarterback Matt Leinart served as the night’s host, with the ceremony starting on time despite lightning and thunder in the area that disrupted a planned red carpet.
The OC Sports Awards were co-founded by Orange County Sports Commission executive director Anthony Brenneman and Revolver Sports Public Relations founder and chief executive Amanda Samaan.
Brenneman said the sports commission separated from a larger tourism bureau into its own nonprofit last year.
Other honorees included the Dodgers’ Freddie Freeman, a Villa Park native, as the Male Pro Athlete of the Year. Professional surfer Caroline Marks, a San Clemente resident, was named Female Pro Athlete of the Year.
Legendary surfer Kelly Slater was the ICON Honoree, late Angels founding owner Gene Autry was the Legacy Honoree and the Jessie Rees Foundation was honored as Philanthropist of the Year. High school and college athletes also earned awards for their excellence.
“We wanted to give an opportunity to honor everyone at every level,” Samaan said. “We also wanted to honor those have come before us to even be here, like Gene Autry. To be able to do it in his house that he built was a full circle moment that we were really honored to be able to do our first year.”
Freeman was not in attendance, as the Dodgers hosted the Mets on Tuesday night. He had a short video message for attendees and a memorable game on the field, hitting a walk-off double in the Dodgers’ 6-5 win.
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