View source for Bob Boone

{{short description|American baseball player and manager (born 1947)}}
{{About|the 1970s–1980s catcher|the 1910s pitcher|Robert Boone (baseball)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2024}}
{{Infobox baseball biography
|name=Bob Boone
|image=Bob Boone 081323.jpg
|caption=Boone in 2023
|position=[[Catcher]] / [[Manager (baseball)|Manager]]
|bats=Right
|throws=Right
|birth_date={{birth date and age|1947|11|19}}
|birth_place=[[San Diego]], California, U.S.
|debutleague = MLB
|debutdate=September 10
|debutyear=1972
|debutteam=Philadelphia Phillies
|finalleague = MLB
|finaldate=September 27
|finalyear=1990
|finalteam=Kansas City Royals
|statleague = MLB
|stat1label=[[Batting average (baseball)|Batting average]]
|stat1value=.254
|stat2label=[[Home run]]s
|stat2value=105
|stat3label=[[Runs batted in]]
|stat3value=826
|stat4label=Managerial record
|stat4value=371–444
|stat5label=Winning %
|stat5value=.455
|teams=
;As player
* [[Philadelphia Phillies]] ({{mlby|1972}}–{{mlby|1981}})
* [[California Angels]] ({{mlby|1982}}–{{mlby|1988}})
* [[Kansas City Royals]] ({{mlby|1989}}–{{mlby|1990}})
;As manager
* [[Kansas City Royals]] ({{mlby|1995}}–{{mlby|1997}})
* [[Cincinnati Reds]] ({{mlby|2001}}–{{mlby|2003}})
|highlights=
* 4× [[Major League Baseball All-Star Game|All-Star]] ([[1976 Major League Baseball All-Star Game|1976]], [[1978 Major League Baseball All-Star Game|1978]], [[1979 Major League Baseball All-Star Game|1979]], [[1983 Major League Baseball All-Star Game|1983]])
* [[World Series champion]] ({{wsy|1980}})
* 7× [[Gold Glove Award]] (1978, 1979, 1982, 1986–1989)
* [[Philadelphia Baseball Wall of Fame|Philadelphia Phillies Wall of Fame]]
}}

'''Robert Raymond Boone''' (born November 19, 1947) is an American former [[catcher]] and [[Manager (baseball)|manager]] in [[Major League Baseball]] (MLB) who was a four-time [[Major League Baseball All-Star Game|All-Star]].<ref name="bbrefbobbonemaj">{{cite web|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/b/boonebo01.shtml|title=Bob Boone Stats|date=2019|publisher=Sports Reference LLC|work=[[Baseball-Reference.com]]|access-date=October 26, 2019}}</ref>

Born in [[San Diego]], California, he is the son of MLB player [[Ray Boone]],<ref>{{Cite web |last=Lee |first=Nick |date=November 22, 2017 |title=The All-San Diego Area Major League Baseball Team |url=https://www.eastvillagetimes.com/the-all-san-diego-area-major-league-baseball-team/ |access-date=2024-11-26 |website=East Village Times |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Muder |first=Craig |date=August 2, 2023 |orig-date=August 2, 2023 |title=Bob Boone, Baseball Lifer |url=https://www.mlb.com/news/phillies-alumni-bob-boone |access-date=November 26, 2024 |website=MLB.com |language=en}}</ref> and he is the father of two major leaguers: [[Bret Boone]] and [[Aaron Boone]]. All four family members were named All-Stars during their careers.

==Professional career==

===Philadelphia Phillies===
Boone was drafted by the [[Philadelphia Phillies]] in the sixth round (126th overall) of the [[1969 Major League Baseball draft|1969 amateur draft]]<ref name="bbrefbobbonemaj"/> after attending [[Stanford University]] where he was admitted to the [[Zeta Psi]] fraternity. He was brought to the majors in late 1972. While Boone never had excellent hitting numbers, he was an excellent defensive catcher, committing only eight errors and allowing only three passed balls in the 1977 season. Boone made the National League All-Star team three times in a Phillies uniform and helped the team win the [[1980 World Series]]. In 1981, he batted .211/.279/.295.	

In 2005, Boone was inducted into the [[Philadelphia Baseball Wall of Fame]].

===California Angels===
In 1982, 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]]. Boone rebounded by throwing out 21 of the first 34 steal attempts and helping the Angels to the AL West title. In 1983, he made his fourth and final All-Star appearance.

On September 30, 1984, Boone caught [[Mike Witt's perfect game]].<ref name="perfectgame">{{cite web|url=http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1984/B09300TEX1984.htm|title=Retrosheet Boxscore: California Angels 1, Texas Rangers 0|date=September 30, 1984|publisher=[[Retrosheet]]|work=retrosheet.org|access-date=October 26, 2019}}</ref>

===Kansas City Royals===
As a free agent, Boone signed with the [[Kansas City Royals]], but a broken finger in 1990 led to his retirement at age 42 following his shortened season, in which he batted .239/.336/.265.

Boone was a career .254/.315/.346 hitter with 1,838 hits, 105 [[home run]]s (HR) and 826 [[Run batted in|runs batted in]] (RBI), in 2,264 games. He was selected an All-Star in 1976, 1978–79, and 1983. Boone was one of the top defensive catchers of his era, winning seven [[Gold Glove]] awards. He caught 2,225 games in a 19-year big league career, a record that lasted for three years until [[Carlton Fisk]] passed him (the record currently is held by [[Iván Rodríguez]], with 2,427). Boone caught 117 [[Shutouts in baseball|shutouts]] during his career, ranking him tied for 13th all-time in 2010 among major league catchers. He threw out Rickey Henderson 17 out of 33 attempted steels, the highest percentage by any catcher on record. <ref>{{cite web|url=http://bb_catchers.tripod.com/catchers/tmonth1.htm|title=The Encyclopedia of Catchers – Trivia December 2010 – Career Shutouts Caught|date=December 2010|publisher=The Encyclopedia of Baseball Catchers|work=bb_catchers.tripod.com|access-date=December 29, 2015}}</ref>

==Managerial career==
In 1990, just after Boone retired as a player, a group trying to bring an MLB franchise to [[Orlando, Florida|Orlando]] (called the '''Orlando SunRays''') hired him to be its first manager.<ref>[https://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/os-xpm-1990-09-14-9009140111-story.html Boone Snags Manager's Job, ''Orlando Sentinel'', September 14, 1990]</ref> The job was contingent on Orlando being awarded a [[National League (baseball)|National League]] franchise to begin play in 1993; the NL instead chose [[Miami Marlins|Miami]] and [[Colorado Rockies|Denver]].

Boone returned to the Royals in 1995 as the team's manager but was let go during the 1997 season after a third straight sub-.500 season. In 2001, 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 replaced Boone with [[Ray Knight]], on July 28, 2003.

===Managerial record===
{| class="wikitable" style="font-size: 95%; text-align:center;"
|-
! rowspan="2"|Team !! rowspan="2"|Year !! colspan="4"|Regular Season !! colspan="4"|Post Season
|-
! Won !! Lost !! Win % !! Finish !! Won !! Lost !! Win % !! Result
|-
!KC||1995
||70 ||74 ||.486 ||'''2nd in AL Central'''  || – || – || – || –
|-
!KC||1996
||75 ||86 ||.466 ||'''5th in AL Central'''  || – || – || – || –
|-
!KC||1997
||36 ||46 ||.439 ||'''5th in AL Central'''  || – || – || – ||(fired)
|-
!CIN||2001
||66 ||96 ||.407 ||'''5th in NL Central'''  || – || – || – || –
|-
!CIN||2002
||78 ||84 ||.481 ||'''3rd in NL Central''' || – || – || – || –
|-
!CIN||2003
||46 ||58 ||.442 ||'''5th in NL Central'''  || – || – || – || (fired)
|-
!'''Total'''||
||371||444||.455|| || || || ||
|}

==Personal life==
Bob and his family are descendants of [[American pioneer]] [[Daniel Boone]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/big-league-stew/answer-man-aaron-boone-talks-television-jobs-famous-191729232--mlb.html|title=Answer Man: Aaron Boone talks television jobs, his famous family and cheap wine|date=2012|publisher=[[Yahoo! Sports]]|work=yahoo.com|access-date=June 1, 2016}}</ref> Bob Boone and his wife, Susan Boone, have three sons. Two of his sons, [[Aaron Boone]] and [[Bret Boone]], are former [[Major League Baseball]] players. Aaron Boone is currently the manager of the [[New York Yankees]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://archive.seattletimes.com/archive/20000206/4003576/big-league-dads-sons-turn-game-into-family-business|title=Big-league dads, sons turn game into family business|date=February 6, 2000|last=Grodin|first=Dana Heiss|publisher=[[The Seattle Times]]|work=seattletimes.com|access-date=October 26, 2019}}</ref> Bret's son Jake Boone is an infielder in the [[Washington Nationals]] minor league system.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.federalbaseball.com/2020/10/2/21498131/washington-nationals-news-instructional-league-roster-includes-2020-draft-picks | title=Washington Nationals' Instructional League roster includes 2020 Draft picks | date=2 October 2020 }}</ref>

Bob Boone's extended family have been sportsmen. His mother, Patsy Boone, was a synchronized swimmer who swam with [[Esther Williams]] in the movies. His sister Terry Boone was a champion swimmer, and his brother Rod Boone<ref name="bbrefrodboonemin">{{cite web|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=boone-001rod|title=Rod Boone Minor Leagues Statistics & History|date=2019|publisher=Sports Reference LLC|work=[[Baseball-Reference.com]]|access-date=October 26, 2019}}</ref> was a college baseball star who played Triple-A ball in the Astros and Royals organizations.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=D9RfCgAAQBAJ&q=%22Bob+Boone%22+sister+brother|title=Home Game: Big-League Stories from My Life in Baseball's First Family|page=12|date=2016|last1=Boone|first1=Bret|last2=Cook|first2=Kevin|isbn=9781101904916|publisher=Crown/Archetype|access-date=October 26, 2019}}</ref>

==See also==
{{Portal|Baseball|California|Biography}}
* [[List of Major League Baseball career putouts as a catcher leaders]]
* [[Third-generation Major League Baseball families]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
*{{Cite news |title=Bob Boone: He Helps Keep Pitchers Within Strike Zone|author=Peter Gammons|newspaper=Baseball Digest |date=September 1985 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3TQDAAAAMBAJ&q=%22Bob+Boone%22&pg=PA69 |pages=69–73}}
*{{Cite news |title=Bob Boone: The Majors' Most Durable Catcher |author=Howie Newman |newspaper=Baseball Digest |date=January 1987 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XDQDAAAAMBAJ&q=%22Bob+Boone%22&pg=PA61 |pages=61–64}}
*{{Cite news |title=The Game I'll Never Forget |author=Bob Boone |newspaper=Baseball Digest |date=November 1988 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MDIDAAAAMBAJ&q=%22Bob+Boone%22&pg=PA55 |pages=55–57}}

==External links==
{{baseballstats|mlb=111221|espn=370|br=b/boonebo01|fangraphs=1001183|brm=boone-001rob|retro=B/Pboonb001}}
{{baseball-reference manager|id=boonebo01}}
*[https://www.baseball-almanac.com/players/player.php?p=boonebo01 Bob Boone] at Baseball Almanac

{{Philadelphia Phillies}}
{{Kansas City Royals managers}}
{{Cincinnati Reds managers}}
{{1980 Philadelphia Phillies}}
{{Kansas City Royals}}
{{Philly Baseball Wall of Fame}}
{{NL C Gold Glove Award}}
{{AL C Gold Glove Award}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Boone, Bob}}
[[Category:1947 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Major League Baseball catchers]]
[[Category:Baseball players from San Diego]]
[[Category:Philadelphia Phillies players]]
[[Category:California Angels players]]
[[Category:Kansas City Royals players]]
[[Category:Raleigh-Durham Phillies players]]
[[Category:Eugene Emeralds players]]
[[Category:Kansas City Royals managers]]
[[Category:Cincinnati Reds managers]]
[[Category:National League All-Stars]]
[[Category:American League All-Stars]]
[[Category:Gold Glove Award winners]]
[[Category:Stanford Cardinal baseball players]]
[[Category:Washington Nationals executives]]
[[Category:Cincinnati Reds coaches]]
[[Category:Alaska Goldpanners of Fairbanks players]]
[[Category:Boone family (pioneers)]]