Next
in line for a quick-fix with a “missing” Topps rookie all-star trophy
is future all-star catcher Bob Boone, who set the tone for what would be
a great 19-year Major League career in 1973 with a fine rookie year:
Boone played his first full season in the Big Leagues in 1973 and didn’t
disappoint his Philadelphia Phillies, finishing third in Rookie of the
Year voting with a .261 batting average, along with 10 homers and 61
runs batted in over 145 games.
Over the course of the next two decades, he’d be named to four all-star
teams, help guide the 1980 Phillies to a World Championship, and win
seven Gold Gloves, which include four after the age of 38!
As a matter of fact Boone won four straight Gold Gloves from the age of
38 through 41! Just incredible when you think about how grueling the
catching position is.
By the time he retired after the 1990 season, he finished up with a .254
average with 1838 hits over 7245 at-bats, while setting the high-mark
for games caught before a guy named Carlton Fisk broke that record a few
years later.
One of the rare members of a three-generation baseball family, his
father Ray played, as did his sons Bret and Aaron, who now manages the
New York Yankees.