The Bret Boone Rookie Card Set Its Sights High
Will Bootsie have a happier Cooperstown road than the Boones?
1991 Bowman Bret Boone (#261) - Card of the Day
Ian Kinsler debuts on the Hall of Fame ballot this year, and he presents an interesting case for voters. With “just” 1999 hits, Kinsler would have been a hard sell in decades past. But the focus on Sabermetrics among many writers, and the recent election of other players with fewer than 2000 safeties (Dick Allen, Gil Hodges, Tony Oliva) make that number less of a concern.
And with 257 home runs, 243 stolen bases, more than 900 RBI, four All-Star nods, two Gold Gloves, and a World Series title under his belt, Kinsler has plenty of supporters. His 54.1 career WAR helps his modern-age case, too.
Bret Boone, on the other hand, didn’t have the advantage of a more liberal electorate when he made his ballot debut in 2011. As it turned out, though, it might not have mattered.
Boone, the fourth-most similar batter to Kinsler according to Baseball Reference’s Similarity Scores, was also an All-Star second baseman (three times) and Gold Glove winner (four times).
The son of long-time catcher Bob Boone, grandson of Ray Boone, and brother of Aaron Boone, Bret began his stay in the big leagues with the Mariners in the early 1990s. Thanks in part to his baseball legacy and in part to the booming baseball-cards-are-everywhere hobby, he made his hobby debut even earlier.
In particular, Topps slotted Boone in their 1991 Bowman set as they were crafting that brand into the place to be for rookie cards, a designation it still holds today. Back when the cloud-gazing Boone RC found its way into packs, he was just coming off his first season of pro ball and was still more than a year away from his Seattle debut.
Those first 33 games, starting in August 1992, yielded a .194, four home runs, and more seasoning. Boone got another shot in mid-April of 1993, and this time things went slightly better (.286) before the M’s sent him back down. He was back for good by August after a couple more yo-yo trips to the minors.
Well, “for good” in the context of 1993, anyway. That offseason, Seattle traded Boone and Erik Hanson to the Cincinnati Reds for Bobby Ayala and Dan Wilson.
It was in Cincy that Boone found his groove, hitting .320 with 12 home runs and 68 RBI in 108 games during the strike-shortened 1994 season. He continued to provide double-digit homer power for the Reds the next four seasons and had a then-career summer in 1998: .266, 24 home runs, 95 RBI. That earned him his first All-Star berth and a Gold Glove (back when GG’s often mirrored batting performance)…and a trade to the Braves.
After a 19-homer season in Atlanta, Bret was on the move again, traded by the Braves along with Ryan Klesko and Jason Shiell to the Padres for Wally Joyner, Reggie Sanders, and Quilvio Veras. Another 19 home runs followed, and then Boone hit free agency after the 2000 season.
With the chance to choose his working climes, Boone went “home” to Seattle, where he turned on all the charms that 2001 had to offer. By the end of the season, his batting line read .331, 37 home runs, 141 RBI, 8.8 WAR (well, now this bit is included, at least).
For his efforts, Boone won his first (of two) Silver Slugger awards, garnered another All-Star nod, and finished third in American League MVP voting. That age-32 season was a peak in just about every way, though he did smack 24, 35, and 24 home runs the next three seasons, driving in 100+ in the first two of them.
His strikeouts climbed during that period, though, as his batting average tumbled back into the .250s by 2004. The Mariners sent Boone to the Twins in July of 2005, and he played his last big league game on the 30th of that month.
Boone moved in and out of retirement over the next couple of seasons, finishing his pro career with the Triple-A Columbus Clippers in 2008.
Overall, in parts of 14 MLB seasons, Boone hit .266 with 252 home runs, 1021 RBI, 927 runs scored, and 94 stolen bases. That, plus a roughly league-average defensive record added up to 22.8 WAR (Baseball Reference version).
And when Boone came up for Cooperstown consideration in 2011?
He received one vote, gone from the ballot after one try. For the record, the other Boones didn’t fare much better:
Grandfather Ray Boone - no ballot appearances
Father Bob Boone - five ballot appearances
Brother Aaron Boone - one ballot appearance
Ian Kinsler and his supporters are surely hoping the former Tigers and Rangers standout is in for a bit longer of a run.
Whether that run eventually ends with a plaque is anyone’s guess, given the always-shifting Hall of Fame sands.