Robert Raymond Boone (born November 19, 1947) is a former
catcher and
manager in
Major League Baseball who was a four-time
All-Star. Born in
San Diego, California, Bob Boone is the son of a major league player, the late third baseman
Ray Boone, and the father of two major leaguers: former second baseman
Bret Boone and
Houston Astros infielder
Aaron Boone. All four family members have been named All-Stars in their careers.
Baseball career
Playing
Philadelphia Phillies
Bob Boone was drafted by the
Philadelphia Phillies in the sixth round of the amateur draft after attending
Stanford University, where he was admitted to the
Zeta Psi fraternity. He was brought to the majors in late and while he never had excellent hitting numbers, he was a phenomenal defensive catcher, committing only eight errors and allowing only three passed balls in the season. He made the National League All-Star team three times in a Phillies uniform, and helped the team win the
1980 World Series.
California Angels
In , the Phillies decided to trade the veteran catcher to the
California Angels, following an unproductive year from Boone, and also as a possible retaliation for Boone's key role in leading the players in negotiations during the
1981 Major League Baseball strike. But Boone rebounded by throwing out 21 of the first 34 steal attempts and helping the Angels to the AL West title, and followed in with his fourth and final All-Star appearance.
On
September 30, , Boone caught
Mike Witt's
perfect game.
Boone stayed with the Angels for seven seasons and was let go in .
Kansas City Royals
As a free agent, he signed with the
Kansas City Royals, but a broken finger in led to his retirement at age 42 following his shortened season.
Boone was a career .254 hitter with 105
home runs and 826
RBI in 2264 games. He was selected an All-Star in 1976, 1978–79, and 1983. He was one of the top defensive catchers of his era, winning seven
Gold Glove awards. Boone caught 2,225 games in a 19-year Major League career, a record which was later broken by
Carlton Fisk (2,226).
Managing
He returned to the Royals in as the manager of the team, but was let go during the season after a third straight sub-.500 season. In , he was hired to be the skipper of the
Cincinnati Reds, replacing
Jack McKeon. However, after another two and a half sub-.500 seasons, the Reds fired Bob Boone on July 28, 2003. In , Boone was inducted into the Phillies Wall of Fame.
Managerial records
Front Office
He currently serves as Assistant General Manager and Vice President of Player Development for the
Washington Nationals.
See also
