Tommy Tanzer is an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 baseball

Baseball

Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...

 agent

Sports agent

A sports agent procures and negotiates employment and endorsement contracts for an athlete.In return, the sports agent generally receives between 4 and 10% of the athlete's playing contract, and 10 to 20% of the athlete's endorsement contract, though these figures vary...

, known for representing pitching prospect Matt Harrington

Matt Harrington

Matt Harrington is a retired professional baseball pitcher and a former first round pick in Major League Baseball's First-Year Player Draft.-Amateur career:...

. He has also represented Major League Baseball

Major League Baseball

Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...

 players such as Steve Finley

Steve Finley

Steven Allen Finley is a former Major League Baseball outfielder.-Early life:Finley, who grew up in Paducah, Kentucky, attended Paducah Tilghman High School and Southern Illinois University, where he earned a degree in physiology and played for the baseball team from 1984–87.-College, Team USA,...

, John Burkett

John Burkett

John David Burkett is a former Major League Baseball pitcher. He compiled 166 wins, 1,766 strikeouts, and a 4.31 earned run average. He pitched from 1987–2003, with the San Francisco Giants, Florida Marlins, Texas Rangers, Atlanta Braves and Boston Red Sox. His best season came in 1993 when he...

, Sterling Hitchcock

Sterling Hitchcock

Sterling Alex Hitchcock is a former Major League Baseball left-handed pitcher. He played from to , mostly with the New York Yankees and San Diego Padres....

, Paul Abbott

Paul Abbott (baseball)

Paul David Abbott , is a former Major League Baseball pitcher who played from -. Over 162 games, Abbott had a 43-37 record, with 496 strikeouts and a 4.92 ERA.-Minnesota Twins:...

, Jason Johnson

Jason Johnson

Jason Michael Johnson is starting pitcher for the Camden Riversharksin the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball. He throws and bats right-handed.-Career:...

, Chone Figgins

Chone Figgins

Desmond DeChone "Chone" Figgins is an American Major League Baseball third baseman for the Seattle Mariners. Figgins is a utility player, playing all positions except catcher, pitcher, and first base.-Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim:...

, José Molina, Charlie Hayes

Charlie Hayes

Charles Dewayne Hayes is a former third baseman in Major League Baseball who played for the San Francisco Giants , Philadelphia Phillies , New York Yankees , Colorado Rockies , Pittsburgh Pirates , Milwaukee Brewers and Houston Astros...

, Dante Bichette

Dante Bichette

Alphonse Dante Bichette, Sr. is a former Italian-American Major League Baseball player. Bichette was a four-time All-Star as a member of the Colorado Rockies.-Career:...

 and Shane Reynolds

Shane Reynolds

Richard Shane Reynolds is a former starting pitcher in Major League Baseball who played for the Houston Astros , Atlanta Braves and Arizona Diamondbacks...

.

Matt Harrington

Tanzer was the agent for star high school pitcher Matt Harrington

Matt Harrington

Matt Harrington is a retired professional baseball pitcher and a former first round pick in Major League Baseball's First-Year Player Draft.-Amateur career:...

, who was drafted with the seventh overall selection in the 2000 MLB Draft by the Colorado Rockies

Colorado Rockies

The Colorado Rockies are a Major League Baseball team based in Denver, Colorado. Established in 1991, they started play in 1993 and are in the West Division of the National League. The team is named after the Rocky Mountains...

. This was Tanzer's first time representing a draft pick.

Harrington and Tanzer were never able to come to terms on a contract with the Rockies. Tanzer asked for a $4.95 million signing bonus, which was 25 percent more than what the previous year's No. 1 pick Josh Hamilton

Josh Hamilton (baseball player)

Joshua Holt Hamilton is a Major League Baseball All Star outfielder for the Texas Rangers.He was the first overall pick in the 1999 Major League Baseball Draft by the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. He was considered a blue chip prospect until injuries and a drug addiction derailed his career in 2001...

had received. The negotiations proved acrimonious, with Tanzer accusing the Rockies of backing out of an alleged pre-draft agreement to sign for his stated asking price, and the Rockies denying that such an agreement ever took place.

As Tanzer and the Rockies fought, Harrington was sitting idle for almost a year. He opted not to sign with the Rockies and re-enter the draft a year later. By then, the Harringtons, who publicly supported their agent the year before, fired him and eventually sued him for offering bad advice.