Catcher Bob Boone spent 19 years in the big leagues, hitting .254 with 1,838 hits, 105 home runs, 826 RBI, 2,508 total bases and 663 walks to only 608 strikeouts. He was an All-Star four times, a Gold Glover seven times, he twice received MVP votes and in 1973 he finished third in NL Rookie of the Year voting. He remained on the Hall of Fame ballot for five years, earning as much as 7.7% of the vote.
He wasn't much of an offensive threat--it was his defense that he was known for. He led the league in defensive WAR twice (he is 15th all-time in that category), games at catcher six times (he is third all time there), catcher putouts three times, catcher assists six times, runners caught stealing three times, caught stealing percentage twice and catcher fielding percentage once. He wasn't a complete dud offensively, however--he hit at least 10 home runs three times, slugged over .400 thrice and had over 60 RBI thrice as well.
In the postseason, he was a completely different hitter. He batted .311 with 33 hits, two home runs, 13 RBI and 12 runs scored in 106 playoff at-bats. He hit .400 or better in three different series, batting .455 with 10 hits in the 1986 ALCS. He earned one World Series ring in his career.
Statistically, he is similar to two Hall of Fame catchers: Al Lopez and Rick Ferrell. He is also similar to Tony Pena, Brad Ausmus, Jim Sundberg, Chris Speier, Leo Cardenas, Deacon McGuire, Benito Santiago and Sherm Lollar. He scores 102 on the Hall of Fame monitor (an average Hall of Famer has a score of 100) and he is ranked #574 on the Fan EloRater, ahead of George Bell, Phil Garner and Zeke Bonura, but behind Ezra Sutton, Vinny Castilla and Bret Boone.
He later became a manager, winning 371 games in that role.
What do you think of Bob Boone? Should he be in the Hall of Fame? Did he have Hall of Fame potential?
He wasn't much of an offensive threat--it was his defense that he was known for. He led the league in defensive WAR twice (he is 15th all-time in that category), games at catcher six times (he is third all time there), catcher putouts three times, catcher assists six times, runners caught stealing three times, caught stealing percentage twice and catcher fielding percentage once. He wasn't a complete dud offensively, however--he hit at least 10 home runs three times, slugged over .400 thrice and had over 60 RBI thrice as well.
In the postseason, he was a completely different hitter. He batted .311 with 33 hits, two home runs, 13 RBI and 12 runs scored in 106 playoff at-bats. He hit .400 or better in three different series, batting .455 with 10 hits in the 1986 ALCS. He earned one World Series ring in his career.
Statistically, he is similar to two Hall of Fame catchers: Al Lopez and Rick Ferrell. He is also similar to Tony Pena, Brad Ausmus, Jim Sundberg, Chris Speier, Leo Cardenas, Deacon McGuire, Benito Santiago and Sherm Lollar. He scores 102 on the Hall of Fame monitor (an average Hall of Famer has a score of 100) and he is ranked #574 on the Fan EloRater, ahead of George Bell, Phil Garner and Zeke Bonura, but behind Ezra Sutton, Vinny Castilla and Bret Boone.
He later became a manager, winning 371 games in that role.
What do you think of Bob Boone? Should he be in the Hall of Fame? Did he have Hall of Fame potential?
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