Bret Boone
Second baseman
Born: April 6, 1969 (1969-04-06) (age 40) El Cajon, California
Batted: Right	Threw: Right
MLB debut
August 19, 1992 for the Seattle Mariners
Last MLB appearance
July 31, 2005 for the Minnesota Twins
Career statistics
Batting average	.266
Home runs	252
Runs batted in	1,021
Teams
Seattle Mariners (1992–1993) Cincinnati Reds (1994–1998) Atlanta Braves (1999) San Diego Padres (2000) Seattle Mariners (2001–2005) Minnesota Twins (2005)
Career highlights and awards
3x All-Star selection (1998, 2001, 2003) 4x Gold Glove Award winner (1998, 2002, 2003, 2004) 2x Silver Slugger Award winner (2001, 2003)

Bret Robert Boone (born April 6, 1969) is a former Major League Baseball second baseman.

[edit] Personal life

Boone was born in El Cajon, California to Susan G. Roel and Bob Boone.^[1] He is a graduate of El Dorado High School and the University of Southern California. He is the grandson of former major leaguer Ray Boone and brother of Aaron Boone. As a child, Boone hung out in the Phillies clubhouse with Pete Rose Jr., his brother Aaron, Ryan Luzinski, and Mark McGraw.^[2]

[edit] Professional career

Boone as a member of the AAA Calgary Cannons in 1992.

In 1992, Boone became the first-ever third-generation big-leaguer in baseball history. As a member of an All-Star family, he is the son of Bob, a catcher for the Philadelphia Phillies, California Angels and Kansas City Royals (1972–1990) and later a manager with the Royals and Cincinnati Reds; his brother Aaron is a third baseman who has played with the Reds, New York Yankees, Cleveland Indians,Florida Marlins,and Houston Astros. His grandfather Ray was an infielder for the Indians, Detroit Tigers, Chicago White Sox, Kansas City Athletics, Milwaukee Braves and Boston Red Sox (1948–1960).

On the last day of the 1998 season, the Reds helped him make baseball trivia history by starting the only infield ever composed of two sets of brothers: first baseman Stephen Larkin, second baseman Bret Boone, shortstop Barry Larkin, and third baseman Aaron Boone.

Boone enjoyed his best season in 2001, leading the league in runs batted in (141) with career highs in batting average (.331), home runs (37), triples (5), runs (118) and hits (206), earning him a Silver Slugger award. He also finished third in the AL MVP voting; started in the All Star Game in Seattle; and provided outstanding defense, though he did not win the Gold Glove award. His Mariners- the best team in their history that year- paced the league with a record 116 wins, earning the AL West championship and advancing to the ALCS, as well as tying the all-time team record for wins in a season with the 1906 Chicago Cubs.

Boone was also a guest announcer for Fox during the 2003 ALCS when his brother, Aaron hit a walk-off home run to send the Yankees to the World Series.

He was designated for assignment by the Seattle Mariners on July 3, 2005, and later traded on July 11 to Minnesota for cash and a player to be named later. Minnesota released Boone on August 1 after only 14 games, where the second baseman struggled with a .221 batting average, with 7 home runs and 37 RBI in 88 games for the Mariners and Twins.

On January 4, 2006, Boone signed a minor league contract with the New York Mets. He received an invitation to spring training, but on March 1, only a few days into spring training, he announced his initial retirement from baseball, citing a lack of passion for the game. ^[3]

On February 18, 2008, Boone came out of retirement and signed a minor league contract with the Washington Nationals.^[4] At first he was assigned to the minor league camp, but after five days, he was invited to the team's major league spring training camp.^[5]

On March 21, 2008, Boone was reassigned to minor league camp after hitting .189 and began the season with the Columbus Clippers, the Nationals Triple-A affiliate. ^[6] He had hoped to get signed by a major league club, and left the Clippers in late April to work out on his own. However, on May 28, he once again announced his retirement.^[7]

[edit] Legacy and Steroid Use

He finished his career with a .266 batting average, 252 home runs and 1,021 RBI in 1,780 games in 14 Major League seasons. He was a 3 times all-star and participated in 2 Home Run Derbies. His career however, is partially tarnished due to his alleged steroid use.

[edit] Related links

• List of NL Gold Glove winners at second base
• List of NL Gold Glove winners at second base
• List of top 500 Major League Baseball home run hitters
• List of second generation MLB players
• List of Major League Baseball players with 1000 RBI
• List of Major League Baseball RBI champions
• List of Major League Baseball hitters with three home runs in one game

[edit] References

[edit] External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Bret Boone

• Career statistics and player information from ESPN, or Baseball-Reference, or Fangraphs, or The Baseball Cube
• Baseball Library - biography and career highlights