Steve Kornacki contributed to this edition of the Rangers Beat newsletter |
DETROIT -- There was a 62-year stretch starting in 1948 -- when infielder Ray Boone broke in with Cleveland -- that either he or one of his descendants played in the Major Leagues, with the exception of just 12 seasons. That’s a remarkable baseball family tree. Bob Boone, his son, was a catcher from 1972-90 -- breaking in with the Phillies a dozen years after his father retired. Then Ray’s grandsons literally kept the ball rolling. Second baseman Bret Boone, named hitting coach of the Rangers May 5, came to the Mariners in 1992, just two years after Dad retired. Corner infielder Aaron Boone, now manager of the defending American League champion Yankees, broke in with the Reds in 1997 before retiring in 2009. He had the family’s most dramatic moment with a walk-off homer for the Yankees in Game 7 of the 2003 ALCS against the Red Sox. All four Boones played between 13 and 18 seasons. And each of them made All-Star teams while surpassing 1,000 hits, 100 homers and 500 RBIs. |
Ray Boone, a friend and teammate of Detroit Hall of Famer Al Kaline, is featured prominently on an enlarged copy of his 1958 Topps baseball card on a kiosk on the Comerica Park concourse saluting the club’s teams from the 1950’s. Boone and Kaline hit grand slams in the same game in '53. When asked by MLB.com at Comerica Park about what his family’s legacy meant to him, Bret Boone, now 56, said, “When I was a kid coming up, I almost had some resentment. It was like I was sick of hearing about it. ‘I’m sick of talking about my grandpa. I’m sick of talking about my dad. Look at me! I’m going to light this world on fire!’ “And then, once I made it, and became an established player, then we didn’t talk about it anymore. That being said, I finished my career, and now it’s more of getting a little bit older and appreciating things a little bit more. I’m so proud! I watched my brother -- and I don’t agree with everything Aaron [now 52] does -- but he’s great and I’m so proud of him and what he’s doing. “I look and say, ‘Wow, my gramps, my dad -- everything he’s done in the game.’ My son [Jake] now works for the [baseball] Commissioner’s Office.” Jake spent one year in the Minors after playing in college for Princeton. |
Bret’s seen and enjoyed the kiosk with “Gramps” on it. “Yeah, he had a lot of years in Detroit,” said the grandson of his grandfather’s six productive seasons with the Tigers. Bret smiled widely in the dugout while reflecting on his family’s contributions to the game they all love. Bob Boone is 77, and Ray Boone passed away in 2004 at the age of 81 in the family hometown of San Diego. Ray Boone led the American League with 116 RBIs as a Tiger in 1955, and Bret led the league with 141 RBIs for the 2001 Seattle team that won an MLB-record 116 games. Boone also hit .331 with 37 homers to finish third in MVP voting that year behind teammate Ichiro Suzuki and Jason Giambi of the Athletics. |
Bret led the family with both 252 career homers and 1,021 RBIs, while Bob’s 1,838 hits, four All-Star Games and seven Gold Gloves are tops. All told, the Boones combined for 634 homers, 3,139 RBIs and 5,890 hits. They made a total of 10 All-Star teams, while winning 11 combined Gold Gloves. Each carved their niche over an incredible span of seven decades. Boones by the numbers: Ray Boone 151 HR, 737 RBIs, 1,260 hits Bob Boone 105 HR, 826 RBIs, 1,838 hits Bret Boone 252 HR, 1,021 RBIs, 1,775 hits Aaron Boone 126 HR, 555 RBIs, 1,017 hits |
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