Bret Boone Retires

[FlyingPig]

"Boone compiled 1,775 hits, 252 home runs and 1,021 RBI in 1,780 career games."


Tossing that bat after hitting one deep always annoyed me for some reason..


http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/news/a...=.jsp&c_id=mlb

[RedFanAlways1966]

14 years in the big leagues. 12 full years if you add years 1, 2 & 14 together as one year due to the lower number of games played.

Did you know:
* Brett hit 38.1% of his total HRS in 2001, 2002 & 2003. He only played 26.5% of his games in these years.
* Brett collected 35.75% of his total RBIs in those same years.
* Brett was 32, 33 & 34 years-old in those years. Out of the game less than 3 years later.

Seems strange that a man plays the equivalent of 8 full ML seasons and puts up mediocre offensive numbers and then explodes at age 32 for three out-of-the-norm offensive years in SEA. 6 of those first 8 years were in Cincy and Atlanta (I believe some people call these places launching pads in reference to the ball flying out of those parks), but Brett did not "mature as a power hitter" until he was 32-years-old and in SEA.

Seems strange that once MLB starts testing for certain things he falls off that offensive-power-table. He seems to get hurt more frequently. Multiple clubs let him go.

Very odd. I am sure diet-and-exercise helped during those BIG years... cause we all noticed the muscles that we had never seen on Brett before. And lo-and-behold we all saw his OPS, HRs & RBIs go through the roof. And it must be coincidental that during these same years we saw other ML BIG HITTERS go crazy too. B*O*N*D*S even hit 73 HRs during one of Brett's big years. Luis Gonzalez hit 57 HRS in that same year (26 more than he had ever hit in a single year).

Peak years? Maybe Brett was a little late in reaching baseball hitter puberty. Maybe he is just a freak of nature. I am sure this is what some will tell you.

Just seems strange to this baseball fan. Strange...

[westofyou]

Peak years? Maybe Brett was a little late in reaching baseball hitter puberty.

Family History shows that it's happened before.

RAY BOONE

GIVEN NAME: Raymond Otis Boone
BORN: 7/27/1923  San Diego, California  
BAT: R  THROW: R  HEIGHT: 6'0"  WEIGHT: 172  MLB DEBUT: 9/3/1948
CAREER GAMES BY POSITION:  1B: 285  2B: 1  SS: 464  3B: 510  

YEAR TEAM         AGE G    AB    R    H    2B  3B  HR   HR%   RBI  BB   SO   SB   CS  AVG   SLG  OBA   OPS
1948 Indians      24    6     5    0    2   1   0   0   0.00    1    0    1    0   0  .400  .600  .400 1.000 
1949 Indians      25   86   258   39   65   4   4   4   1.55   26   38   17    0   2  .252  .345  .352  .697 
1950 Indians      26  109   365   53  110  14   6   7   1.92   58   56   27    4   3  .301  .430  .397  .827 
1951 Indians      27  151   544   65  127  14   1  12   2.21   51   48   36    5   3  .233  .329  .302  .631 
1952 Indians      28  103   316   57   83   8   2   7   2.22   45   53   33    0   1  .263  .367  .372  .739 
1953 Indians      29   34   112   21   27   1   2   4   3.57   21   24   21    1   2  .241  .393  .375  .768 
     Tigers       29  101   385   73  120  16   6  22   5.71   93   48   47    2   1  .312  .556  .395  .951 
     TOTALS           135   497   94  147  17   8  26   5.23  114   72   68    3   3  .296  .519  .390  .909 
1954 Tigers       30  148   543   76  160  19   7  20   3.68   85   71   53    4   2  .295  .466  .376  .842 
1955 Tigers       31  135   500   61  142  22   7  20   4.00  116   50   49    1   1  .284  .476  .346  .822 
1956 Tigers       32  131   481   77  148  14   6  25   5.20   81   77   46    0   0  .308  .518  .403  .920 
1957 Tigers       33  129   462   48  126  25   3  12   2.60   65   57   47    1   1  .273  .418  .353  .771 
1958 Tigers       34   39   114   16   27   4   1   6   5.26   20   14   13    0   2  .237  .447  .323  .770 
     White Sox    34   77   246   25   60  12   1   7   2.85   41   18   33    1   1  .244  .386  .295  .681 
     TOTALS           116   360   41   87  16   2  13   3.61   61   32   46    1   3  .242  .406  .304  .710 
1959 White Sox    35    9    21    3    5   0   0   1   4.76    5    7    5    1   0  .238  .381  .400  .781 
     A's          35   61   132   19   36   6   0   2   1.52   12   27   17    1   0  .273  .364  .396  .760 
     Braves       35   13    15    3    3   0   0   1   6.67    2    4    2    0   0  .200  .400  .368  .768 
     TOTALS            83   168   25   44   6   0   4   2.38   19   38   24    2   0  .262  .369  .394  .763 
1960 Braves       36    7    12    3    3   1   0   0   0.00    4    5    1    0   0  .250  .333  .471  .804 
     Red Sox      36   34    78    6   16   1   0   1   1.28   11   11   15    0   0  .205  .256  .300  .556 
     TOTALS            41    90    9   19   2   0   1   1.11   15   16   16    0   0  .211  .267  .327  .594 
     TOTALS          1373  4589  645 1260 162  46 151   3.29  737  608  463   21  19  .275  .429  .361  .789 
     LG AVERAGE            4548  616 1213 192  40 107   2.36  579  529  513   41  33  .267  .397  .345  .742 
     POS AVERAGE           4519  613 1190 180  36  98   2.17  566  566  493   36  30  .263  .384  .347  .731 


BOB BOONE

GIVEN NAME: Robert Raymond Boone
BORN: 11/19/1947  San Diego, California  
BAT: R  THROW: R  HEIGHT: 6'2"  WEIGHT: 195  MLB DEBUT: 9/10/1972
CAREER GAMES BY POSITION:  1B: 7  3B: 7  LF: 1  C: 2225  DH: 1  

YEAR TEAM         AGE G    AB    R    H    2B  3B  HR   HR%   RBI  BB   SO   SB   CS  AVG   SLG  OBA   OPS
1972 Phillies     24   16    51    4   14   1   0   1   1.96    4    5    7    1   0  .275  .353  .333  .686 
1973 Phillies     25  145   521   42  136  20   2  10   1.92   61   41   36    3   4  .261  .365  .311  .675 
1974 Phillies     26  146   488   41  118  24   3   3   0.61   52   35   29    3   1  .242  .322  .295  .617 
1975 Phillies     27   97   289   28   71  14   2   2   0.69   20   32   14    1   3  .246  .329  .322  .651 
1976 Phillies     28  121   361   40   98  18   2   4   1.11   54   45   44    2   5  .271  .366  .348  .713 
1977 Phillies     29  132   440   55  125  26   4  11   2.50   66   42   54    5   5  .284  .436  .343  .780 
1978 Phillies     30  132   435   48  123  18   4  12   2.76   62   46   37    2   5  .283  .425  .347  .772 
1979 Phillies     31  119   398   38  114  21   3   9   2.26   58   49   33    1   4  .286  .422  .367  .789 
1980 Phillies     32  141   480   34  110  23   1   9   1.88   55   48   41    3   4  .229  .338  .299  .637 
1981 Phillies     33   76   227   19   48   7   0   4   1.76   24   22   16    2   2  .211  .295  .279  .574 
1982 Angels       34  143   472   42  121  17   0   7   1.48   58   39   34    0   2  .256  .337  .310  .647 
1983 Angels       35  142   468   46  120  18   0   9   1.92   52   24   42    4   3  .256  .353  .289  .641 
1984 Angels       36  139   450   33   91  16   1   3   0.67   32   25   45    3   3  .202  .262  .242  .504 
1985 Angels       37  150   460   37  114  17   0   5   1.09   55   37   35    1   2  .248  .317  .306  .623 
1986 Angels       38  144   442   48   98  12   2   7   1.58   49   43   30    1   0  .222  .305  .287  .593 
1987 Angels       39  128   389   42   94  18   0   3   0.77   33   35   36    0   2  .242  .311  .304  .615 
1988 Angels       40  122   352   38  104  17   0   5   1.42   39   29   26    2   2  .295  .386  .352  .739 
1989 Royals       41  131   405   33  111  13   2   1   0.25   43   49   37    3   2  .274  .323  .351  .675 
1990 Royals       42   40   117   11   28   3   0   0   0.00    9   17   12    1   1  .239  .265  .336  .601 
     TOTALS          2264  7245  679 1838 303  26 105   1.45  826  663  608   38  50  .254  .346  .315  .661 
     LG AVERAGE            7457  960 1966 333  52 180   2.41  897  729 1092  157  78  .264  .395  .330  .725 
     POS AVERAGE           7297  775 1810 318  30 175   2.40  883  720 1075   45  40  .248  .372  .316  .688 




BRET BOONE

GIVEN NAME: Bret Robert Boone
BORN: 4/6/1969  El Cajon, California  
BAT: R  THROW: R  HEIGHT: 5'10"  WEIGHT: 175  MLB DEBUT: 8/19/1992
CAREER GAMES BY POSITION:  2B: 1763  3B: 8  DH: 4  

YEAR TEAM         AGE G    AB    R    H    2B  3B  HR   HR%   RBI  BB   SO   SB   CS  AVG   SLG  OBA   OPS
1992 Mariners     23   33   129   15   25   4   0   4   3.10   15    4   34    1   1  .194  .318  .224  .542 
1993 Mariners     24   76   271   31   68  12   2  12   4.43   38   17   52    2   3  .251  .443  .301  .743 
1994 Reds         25  108   381   59  122  25   2  12   3.15   68   24   74    3   4  .320  .491  .368  .858 
1995 Reds         26  138   513   63  137  34   2  15   2.92   68   41   84    5   1  .267  .429  .326  .755 
1996 Reds         27  142   520   56  121  21   3  12   2.31   69   31  100    3   2  .233  .354  .275  .629 
1997 Reds         28  139   443   40   99  25   1   7   1.58   46   45  101    5   5  .223  .332  .298  .630 
1998 Reds         29  157   583   76  155  38   1  24   4.12   95   48  104    6   4  .266  .458  .324  .782 
1999 Braves       30  152   608  102  153  38   1  20   3.29   63   47  112   14   9  .252  .416  .310  .726 
2000 Padres       31  127   463   61  116  18   2  19   4.10   74   50   97    8   4  .251  .421  .326  .747 
2001 Mariners     32  158   623  118  206  37   3  37   5.94  141   40  110    5   5  .331  .578  .372  .950 
2002 Mariners     33  155   608   88  169  34   3  24   3.95  107   53  102   12   5  .278  .462  .339  .801 
2003 Mariners     34  159   622  111  183  35   5  35   5.63  117   68  125   16   3  .294  .535  .366  .902 
2004 Mariners     35  148   593   74  149  30   0  24   4.05   83   56  135   10   5  .251  .423  .317  .740 
2005 Mariners     36   74   273   30   63  15   3   7   2.56   34   24   52    4   2  .231  .385  .299  .684 
     Twins        36   14    53    3    9   0   0   0   0.00    3    4   13    0   0  .170  .170  .241  .411 
     TOTALS            88   326   33   72  15   3   7   2.15   37   28   65    4   2  .221  .350  .290  .639 
     TOTALS          1780  6683  927 1775 366  28 252   3.77 1021  552 1295   94  53  .266  .442  .325  .767 
     LG AVERAGE            6766  961 1824 356  40 212   3.13  911  674 1223  137  61  .270  .428  .339  .767 
     POS AVERAGE           6719  956 1806 347  50 136   2.02  737  614 1094  194  78  .269  .396  .334  .730

[M2]

Wow, all it took was one bad year and he's gone. That's a guy who crumbled in a hurry.

[RedFanAlways1966]

But did Dad and Grandpa's physique noticably change as well? And was their some sort of supplement out there that was in the news back in Dad and Grandpa's playing days?

I do not see the comparison being the same. Grandpa had one year that seemed to go above the norm "after" age 32 (1956 when he was 32-33 years-old). Dad? Not much to back up the argument that his numbers peaked after age 32 either. They seemed to level out and go down from the years before 32-years-old. Neither one was nowhere near the offensive peak seen by Brett once 32-years-old.

It could be genetics. It could be something else. It is too bad that some of us think this way. I guess after 5-7 years of testing, the talk of legit-or-not will finally die down. Until then some will always wonder about the power peak years of 1995-2003. And I cannot blame people for wondering.

[flyer85]

Someone need to put this news in Woemack's locker.

[westofyou]

But did Dad and Grandpa's physique noticably change as well?

Bob Boone is credited with starting the trend of working out AFTER the game. I don't have their annual ST measurements to quantify that question.

[westofyou]

Neither one was nowhere near the offensive peak seen by Brett once 32-years-old.

Neither one played in an era that was marked with such a offensive explosion as this era has shown to have.

[KronoRed]

Originally Posted by flyer85

Someone need to put this news in Woemack's locker.

I say we offer them Womack

[Team Clark]

Reminds me of Lenny Dykstra... A lot of parallels.

[RedFanAlways1966]

Originally Posted by westofyou

Neither one played in an era that was marked with such a offensive explosion as this era has shown to have.

I agree with that. And this may be a question for another post, but is the offensive explosion relative at all to supplements that are now being tested (and punished if caught) for in today's game?

I know that it is impossible to tell. There may be other things like the high number of ML teams that makes pitching thinner, the exercise routines, the diets and/or the hand-eye-coordination exercises used today.

And I, a former Brett rooter during those Cincy years, really wonder about Brett's entire exercise routine. I wonder if any other ML 2nd-basemen had the kind of power surge that he had after that many years in MLB and at that kind of age.

Of course I do not and will not ever know. But I wonder about Brett. As I wonder about many others (I already mentioned B*O*N*D*S and Luis). But unfortunately I and many others will wonder and talk about these things for a few years b/c MLB and the Union decided for the wrong kind of protection in the game we all love. Someday, if the testing remains and is enforced, this kind of talk will die down.

[gonelong]

Brett came in to his salary drive season with 20 lbs of extra muscle. He played silly that year and locked up a big contract. He gave all sorts of credit to his off-season workout program. He then showed up at ST the next season without his 20LB of muscle.

I don't know, but if I had to place my money on steriods/not steriods, I'd take the steriods. If he wasn't taking something then he was just too lazy to continue the workout regimine that he himself credited for his big season.

Either way he worked his way into a big contract and then stuck it to the Ms.

GL

[Cant Touch This]

Originally Posted by KronoRed

I say we offer them Womack

I think "Woe"mack is appropriate...