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By Gregg Sarra
STAFF WRITER
July 11, 2003
The miles became torturous and the
long drives were monotonous. His life became long stretches of single-lane
roads winding through the mountains and more miles of hypnotic highways.
There isn't a road that Shoreham's Tom O'Connell hasn't driven. He would
leave early for work each day and hop into his champagne Lincoln Mark VIII
and drive up and down the East Coast, looking for clients.
Tom
O'Connell is a grass-roots sports agent. He's not a super agent who
negotiates multimillion-dollar contracts. Not yet.
There's never
been a challenge too big for O'Connell. His entire life, he's gone against
conventional wisdom. That might be why he's been successful in a tough
business.
"I've always trusted my instincts and believed that I
could accomplish anything," said O'Connell, who resides in Tampa, but lives
out of a suitcase. "Credibility is everything in all businesses. And if you
show sincerity to clients and outwork the competition, you win."
Consider O'Connell a winner. He is the president of Legends Management Group
and currently has 41 professional baseball players as clients. He was
certified for his MLBPA card when Houston Astros pitcher Tim Redding made
the team's 40-man roster and then made his major-league debut June 24, 2001.
"You're like a made guy when one of your players makes the 40-man roster,"
O'Connell said. "I never went after high draft picks. I always scouted the
kids that needed to build their careers through the farm systems."
Redding met O'Connell in Oneonta in 1998. Redding came on in relief for the
Auburn Astros in the eighth inning of a New York-Penn League game against
the Oneonta Yankees. O'Connell's radar gun showed Redding throwing 98 mph.
"I thought the gun was broke," O'Connell said. O'Connell introduced himself
after the game and Redding agreed to grab a bite to eat back in Auburn that
evening.
"We had some things in common and he was very personable,"
said Redding, who is 5-8 for Houston this season. "He followed us back with
no guarantees and I liked that. He was a go-getter, a hungry guy."
Now he has three players in the major leagues and seven more in Triple A.
O'Connell kicked back in Yankee Stadium last week during the Boston series.
His client, righthander Dan Miceli, was pitching in relief. His other client
is Houston pitcher Rodrigo Rosario.
A huge smile came over
O'Connell. "I think I've made it," he said. "Heroes come and go. Legends
never die."
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