Bob Boone, the former California Angels catcher who became one of the defining players of the club’s most successful stretch in the 1980s, has died at 78, according to multiple reports.
Greg Luzinski, Boone’s former teammate with the Philadelphia Phillies, and former Cincinnati Reds general manager Jim Bowden, who hired Boone to manage in 2000, both posted about his death on Twitter/X late Monday.
Boone’s biggest imprint in Southern California came after the Angels landed him in a December 1981 trade with the Phillies. From 1982 through 1988, he was a central figure in the franchise’s longest sustained run of success at that point, a span that included three 90-win seasons and two American League Championship Series appearances.
He was especially dangerous in October. Boone hit .368 across 12 ALCS games, with two home runs, seven runs scored and six RBIs. That remains the highest career postseason batting average in Angels history for any player with at least 25 at-bats.
His regular-season resume with the Angels was just as decorated. Boone won Gold Glove Awards in 1982, 1986, 1987 and 1988, made the AL All-Star team in 1983, and was voted the Angels’ team MVP in both 1983 and 1988 by the local chapter of the Baseball Writers Association of America. His 962 regular-season games behind the plate still stand as the Angels’ franchise record for catchers.
A San Diego native and Stanford product, Boone broke in with the Phillies in 1972 and was part of the club’s first World Series title in 1980. He finished his playing career with the Kansas City Royals in 1990 at age 42.
By the time he stepped away as a player, Boone had logged more than 2,200 games. He then moved into managing, leading the Royals from 1995-97 and the Reds from 2001-03.
The Boone family’s place in baseball history grew even deeper when Bret Boone debuted in 1992, making the family the first three-generation group of big leaguers. Bob’s father, Ray Boone, was a two-time All-Star, and Bret’s brother Aaron, now the New York Yankees manager, also reached the majors.
Among the game’s defensive greats, Bob Boone stood near the top. His seven career Gold Gloves trail only Ivan Rodriguez, Johnny Bench and Yadier Molina in major league history, and his 2,225 defensive games at catcher rank third all-time.
He also filled a very specific role in Gene Mauch’s lineup, often asked to sacrifice bunt. Boone’s 23 sacrifices in 1982 are the second-most in a single season in Angels history.
Boone later joined the Washington Nationals’ front office in 2005, and in 2009 he was elevated to assistant GM and vice president for player development. He resigned in early September of 2021, closing out a baseball career that stretched across seven decades and left its mark on several franchises, especially the Angels.
In Other News...
Cal Let A Huge Opportunity Slip Against Ranked USC
Cal had a chance to make a statement at Haas Pavilion against 21st-ranked USC, but the Bears could not quite turn a competitive night into a breakthrough. In a 77-65 loss, Sammie Yeanay led Cal with 14 points and Nojus Indrusaitis added 13, while USC got balanced scoring from Alijah Arenas, Rodney Rice and KJ Lewis to keep the pressure on throughout.
The Bears also had to navigate the absence of center Lee Dort because of an ankle injury, leaving them without an important interior presence in a game where every possession mattered. Cal stayed within reach for stretches, but USCs offense found enough answers to keep the Bears from fully cashing in on what had been a big opportunity. [Read more 🡒]
Cal's USC Loss Exposed A Frustrating Problem Effort Could Not Fix
The loss to USC at Haas Pavilion left California with a familiar kind of frustration, the sort that does not show up in a single bad stretch but in the small, repeated battles that decide a game. The Golden Bears fought through shooting issues and got efforts from players like Sammie Yeanay and Nojus Indrusaitis, yet they never found enough rhythm to turn that energy into a real push against the Trojans.
What stood out most was the way USC controlled the game around the margins, turning extra possessions into a steady edge Cal could not erase. For a Bears team trying to find consistency, that made the defeat feel bigger than the final score, because the problem was not effort so much as the inability to match the physical details that kept slipping away. [Read more 🡒]
Cal Let USC Take Over In One Brutal Area At Haas
California had enough stretches at Haas Pavilion to stay within reach, but USC controlled the kind of possessions that tend to decide games in February. The Trojans left with a 77-65 win after repeatedly winning the battle for rebounds and loose balls, an edge that Cal head coach Mark Madsen pointed to as a major reason the Bears could not flip the night in their favor. Even as Sammie Yeanay and Nojus Indrusaitis tried to keep the offense moving, Cal never found the efficiency it needed to turn those efforts into a real push.
The frustrating part for the Bears was that the game did not feel out of hand because of one explosive USC run so much as a steady accumulation of second chances and extra possessions. Cal struggled to make enough shots to offset the damage on the glass, and once USC established that physical edge, the Bears were left chasing the scoreboard without much margin for error. For a team trying to build momentum at home, it was the sort of loss that lingers because the fix is obvious even if the answer is not easy. [Read more 🡒]