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Bob Boone, MLB's First 3-Generation Family Member, Dies at 78
Confirmed
In Short: Bob Boone, a former Major League Baseball catcher and part of baseball's first three-generation family, died at the age of 78, his son Bret announced on social media Tuesday.
Bob Boone 081323.
Former Reds manager Bob Boone dies at 78. WLWT
Bob Boone, a former Major League Baseball catcher and part of baseball's first three-generation family, died at the age of 78, his son Bret announced on social media Tuesday.
Boone, an 19-year MLB veteran, played a key role in the Philadelphia Phillies' first World Series championship in 1980. He was a seven-time Gold Glove Award winner and a four-time All-Star.
Boone's career spanned 19 seasons, during which he caught 2,225 games, making him the Phillies' franchise leader in games caught.
Boone's father, Ray Boone, played for six teams from 1948 to 1960, and his sons, Bret and Aaron, both had long careers in the 1990s and 2000s.
Boone's son Aaron, now the manager of the New York Yankees, recalled growing up around baseball, saying, 'I'm just so grateful that I had a dad that took us to work with him all the time.'
Boone was a sixth-round draft pick as a third baseman out of Stanford in 1969 and converted to catcher in the Phillies' minor league system.
Boone's legacy includes his contributions to the Washington Nationals, where he served as the director of player development and helped build the team that won its first World Series title in 2019.
Former teammate Mike Schmidt, a Hall of Famer, remembered Boone as 'a man of great integrity' and 'a great dad, husband, and patriarch.'
The Phillies issued a statement mourning Boone's passing, noting his invaluable presence behind the plate and his role in the team's historic run.
Boone's sons, Bret and Aaron, both enjoyed long careers in the majors, with Bret becoming a three-time All-Star over an 14-year career largely with the Seattle Mariners.
What's confirmed
- "I'm just so grateful that I had a dad that took us to work with him all the time," Aaron, now manager of the New York Yankees, said in 2023 (via MLB.com ).
- Bob's father, Ray Boone, played for six teams from 1948-60, and his sons Aaron and Bret both had long careers spanning the 1990s and 2000s.
- Boone’s son, Bret, announced his father’s death Tuesday on social media.
- Bob Boone was a sixth-round draft pick as a third baseman out of Stanford in 1969.
- Boone spent his first 10 seasons with the Phillies, played seven with the California Angels and two with the Kansas City Royals.
- Aaron Boone played 13 seasons in the majors and played for the Reds when Bob managed the team.
- "He was a man of great integrity. He was a great dad, husband, and patriarch. It was a privilege to call him my father. Baseball lost a great one today," Bret Boone wrote.
- Boone caught 2,225 games overall in 19 big league seasons.
- “His legacy is profound, and we can see the values he embodied carried forward by his son, Aaron, in his leadership of the Yankees.” A 1969 sixth-round pick by the Phillies out of Stanford, Boone batted.254 with 105 home runs, 826 RBI and a.661 OPS over 2,264 MLB games.
What's still developing
- Boone spent five years on the Hall of Fame ballot from 1996 to 2000 but was not voted into Cooperstown.
- That started a 17-year run as one of the game's best and most durable catchers.
- Ray Boone then went on to become a legendary scout with the Boston Red Sox.
- The Boones became a three-generation MLB family when Bret debuted in 1992, followed by Aaron in 1997.