Episode Transcript
[00:00:04] Jerry Crasnick: Welcome to the Players Association Stitch by Stitch podcast where we talk to current and former players about union history, baseball and the bond that players share over time. And the Mariners have a run and
[00:00:18] Jerry Crasnick: Brett Boone in his major league debut
[00:00:20] Jerry Crasnick: is the man who singled at home. In this episode we connect with Brett Boone, the product of an esteemed three generation family of major leaguers. His grandfather Ray was a World War II Navy veteran and a 13 year Big Leaguer. His father Bob was a world champion, a seven time Gold Glove winning catcher and a driving force in union leadership for the better part of two decades.
[00:00:47] Jerry Crasnick: And it's the first time in the history of Major League Baseball that two sets of brothers have appeared in the same ball game. Brett Boone at second and Aaron Boone over a third.
[00:00:57] Jerry Crasnick: Brett and his brother Aaron did the family legacy proud, even if dad gave them occasional grief because they went to USC instead of his alma mater, Stanford.
[00:01:08] Jerry Crasnick: He's a Stanford guy, you know, which we still have a problem with in the Boone household. Being an sc, he kind of mocks me now. My son went to Princeton, so now he mocks my dad.
[00:01:18] Jerry Crasnick: Brett was a 24 year old assistant player rep in Cincinnati during the longest strike in MLB history.
So he has a few thoughts of his own on baseball, economics and the role of the mobpa.
What do you remember about your grandfather and your relationship with him?
[00:01:37] Brett Boone: Gramps was probably my earliest influence from a young age. Mom and dad had me very young when he was still at Stanford. So I spent a lot of my early childhood with my grandpa, you know, dad in the minor legs. We still have old videos of me waking up at five in the morning and getting Gramps out of bed, putting the catcher's gear on. Yeah, I miss him. I miss him a lot. He was a huge, huge part of my life. Yeah, Ray Boone, he was a piece of work. He was old school.
He was as proud as anyone I've ever met, backing his generation of baseball and at the same time he was the proudest grandfather I've ever met. You go three for four. And he'd first question after the game, so what happened that fourth at bat? I'd say, gramps, what about the other three? He'd say, yeah, yeah, yeah, what about that fourth at bat? That's how he was though. And I knew that never could. It was tough for him to compliment you face to face, but you'd walk away and he couldn't.
There weren't enough people for him to tell how great his grandkids were or his son or anybody in his family. That's the type of man he was.
[00:02:45] Jerry Crasnick: Did you have any choice in life to be anything other than a baseball player?
[00:02:50] Brett Boone: I don't think so. You know, hindsight, no, it's, it's something. It was. Introduced me at a young age. I was never, you know, especially from a father's perspective. My dad was, you know, he was kind of away my whole childhood. I mean, we, I was in the minor leagues and dad was still in the big leagues.
So all those Little League and Ponyball and Connie Mack, which it was back then. Now it's 16U and 15U. But he never got to go to my games. I mean, I'd have a Little League game where it was a Little League game right after school at 3:00'. Clock. Well, Dad's on the way to Veterans Stadium at 3 o'. Clock. So it was very rare that dad got to see me play in college. If he could, he, he'd pop out. We lived when he was playing with the Angels and I was going to school in Orange county.
If we had a three, maybe he'd go to the ballpark a little later, little later that day so he could maybe catch my first at bat. But really, dad didn't get to see me play that much. The pressure was never there. Never felt like you're going to play baseball. It was always here's the game, hope you love it. It'd be cool if you followed in my footsteps. But there was never any. There was very. I had a very supportive family. No matter what we, what we were going to pursue in life.
Just so happens that we all pursued baseball and you know, as you get, as you, as time goes by and you get a little bit older, you really appreciate and are proud of what our family's done and what they're continuing to do in the game today.
[00:04:15] Jerry Crasnick: Is that where moms come in as the unsung heroes when dads are at the ballpark every day?
[00:04:21] Brett Boone: Mom was. She's a rock star. Still is. You know, mom was kind of the glue that held it together, especially for us and mom going from Little League to a football game, you know, depending on what season it was back then. We had seasons, we played football, basketball, baseball. She's juggling all three of us and we're all at different levels and at different teams. We were never on the same team. You know, I look at Aaron and our careers and how they intersected.
Our first game ever, playing together, organized, was in the big leagues, which is, which is pretty cool.
[00:04:53] Jerry Crasnick: Your memories as a kid, your dad was In Philly and with the Angels
[00:04:59] Brett Boone: mostly, from what I remember. I remember he started bringing me to the ballpark. I was probably five back then, in the mid. Mid to late 70s is where, you know, that was kind of my wheelhouse. You know, they won the World Series in 1980, and I was right there and I was on the float the next day. And I remember back in those days, if I asked dad, can I go to the ballpark early today? And he told me, no, that was the end of the world. Like, no, I have to go and put my uniform on and shag and catch balls behind my back in the outfield. And back then, it was kind of like if you proved you could handle yourself on a big league field, they let you do it. You know, there were some great teams, those Philly teams. And yet you had Schmitty and Carlton and Boa and Luzinski and Maddox. I knew them all. Trio Pete was the first baseman. I had a pretty blessed childhood.
[00:05:45] Jerry Crasnick: Do you think there's a bond among kids who grow up as sons of big leaguers that you all sort of experience the same thing? The pressures, the enjoyment. Like, have you ever talked to any other players?
[00:05:58] Brett Boone: I don't know how much it helped me on my, you know, for my career, but I know one thing. I know it didn't hurt me. You know, the misnomer is your dad probably taught you everything. My dad hasn't taught me one thing about baseball.
He hasn't told me one thing.
It was trial and error. Learn.
He always told me he wouldn't let me catch.
So you play shortstop, Tip. They tell you you can't play short anymore. Then you play second. If you can't play second, you move to third. If you can't play third, you move to the outfield. And if all other fails, put on the gear and you catch.
And that was the only advice he ever gave me, baseball wise. I remember in the backyard, and I was in high school and I was a shortstop man, my elbow would hurt all the time. He'd take me in the backyard and he was catching for the Angels at the time. He said, brett, my arm never hurts.
He said, this is how I throw. We worked on my throwing and my technique. That would be the one thing dad helped me with. Now fast forward to my pro career. When I got to the big leagues, he was a huge help. As far as I'd fly him in sometimes when I was struggling, you know, I'd fly him in and we'd work as hitting coach, player, and. But as a Child, you know, and he'll laugh when I say it. But we never talked about. We talked baseball all the time, but we never talked how to play. He never taught me how to hit, how to feel, how to throw. Just, here's a glove, here's a bat.
Go learn. And that's how you learn. But, yeah, that was. That was pretty much my childhood. Just very supportive.
But as far as the techniques and how to play. No, just go play. Throw the ball against the wall when you're bored.
And that's what we did.
[00:07:38] Jerry Crasnick: What did you learn about being a professional just from watching your dad and the way he did it for all those years?
[00:07:48] Brett Boone: That's what I learned from my dad, how to be a pro.
Because that's, you know, Bob Boone, you know, was known for his defensive prowess. And, you know, he won seven Gold Gloves, won a World Series with the Angels or with the Phillies, but he was a pro. And I think if you asked him or any of his peers, teammates, guys he played with, played against, that came to mind all the time. Bob Boone is a pro.
[00:08:13] Jerry Crasnick: He was very active in the union for a long time. Did you see that? Did you become aware of it at times that my dad is engaged in this end of the thing as well?
[00:08:24] Brett Boone: No, you know, I really didn't. It was. I wanted to watch his game every night, but the union stuff was kind of over my head. I was too young and really not interested. Now. I became interested as I became when I. When I got drafted and I signed and I became a big league player. Now his advice to me was, Brett, I'm not saying do what I did and get that involved in the union, he said, but I would give you a little piece of advice. Educate yourself in the process.
So that means go to meetings, get involved however you can. So in 1994, the strike year where the World Series was canceled, I took on the role of the assistant rep for the Cincinnati Reds. Hal Morris was our rep and I was the assistant flying to cities, meeting with the owners, seeing how the back and forth was. And Don Fear was our. Was our leader on the union side. And of course, at that time, Bud Seely was the. Was the commissioner of baseball. And it was, to say the least, it was a very interesting prospect.
During that tough 94, when we were, you know, when we weren't playing, there was a work stoppage, having those meetings and the things I heard from teammates that had not been to one meeting. And I remember saying, listen until you get to a meeting and educate yourself on the process.
Your words don't mean a lot to me because I'm watching what's going on.
[00:09:41] Jerry Crasnick: So in 81, the season was cut and there were two months with no games.
You were 12 and your father was a big leaguer. Do you remember him being home for a couple months in the middle of.
[00:09:54] Brett Boone: I don't remember that much. Like I said, I was, oh, Dad's not playing. Okay, I'm out. You know, and I'm 12, so I'm in Little League and. Or whatever I'm doing at that time. Fast forward, years later, I said, oh, okay, the 81. And I got up to date on what happened then. And he. Through not only what dad told me, but through the union guys, through Donald Fear, who had plenty of stories about my father and his tenure at the union.
So. Yeah, but at the time, when I
[00:10:19] Jerry Crasnick: was 12, no, when I was reading about your dad, he was a legendary rep. I mean, he was engaged. He was, you know, going to mattresses half the time. But I know in 90, 85, for instance, like there was an argument over salary arbitration and do they take it from two years to three years? And I think your dad was on a bit of a different side from some guys. And I read that he said he was just listening to the other players and how they felt.
[00:10:51] Brett Boone: Absolutely.
When you're in, when you're in negotiations, your instinct is, I'm going to do what's right. But his, his philosophy on all that, and it's not like we went into detail about it, but just he gave me the gist of it and it was, Brett, I'll go to the mat for what I believe in.
He said, but if I've got a group of players, if he's the National League rep, so he's representing every player on every team in the National League. He said, if I don't have the numbers to fight, like I'm willing to fight, I'm going to get the best deal I can and get out of here. Even though it's not what I believe, and I don't think it's necessarily the best outcome. He was reading the room and really, when you think about it, that's the intellect, the intellect of Bob Bone. Not that he didn't want to fight. He'll fight.
If he believes in something, he will fight to the death for it.
[00:11:47] Jerry Crasnick: We talk a lot about Marvin Miller, but like you said, with you, it was Don Gene, Michael Wiener. Can you describe their leadership dynamic for people and what made them successful and how it worked?
[00:12:04] Brett Boone: You know, Donald Fear is one of the most brilliant men I've ever been around.
And Michael Wiener, who we lost, passed away, and Gene Orza. And that was my crew almost to the point where, you know, I consider myself relatively smart. Relatively. But I'll tell you what, you walk into the room with those guys and have a conversation, you can feel dumb real quick.
Donald, he was brilliant.
And the knock on Donald was, well, he doesn't come across great on the mic, but that wasn't his gift. His gift was, I'll give you the. I'll go to the mic. I'm the head of the union and I don't have this likability factor through the roof because, because I'm just telling you what the facts are.
And that was the thing he didn't have. But behind the scenes he was brilliant and I think he had that same attitude. It wasn't, oh, you stay firm and you hold on. No, he had to read.
You know, you talk about my dad being the head of the National League. Well, you talk about Donald Fear, he's head of the whole thing. So not only does he have to read the players, but he's got to read my dad. And whoever the American League rep was at the time, I think it was Doug Desensis.
But you have to do your due diligence and go through the exercise. And I think that's what Donald Fear was so good at. And I had a great relationship with him. I never got the chance to meet Marvin Miller, but I've heard the stories.
Obviously he was Donald Fear's mentor and I've heard a lot of stories about it. But that's back when it really started. You know, Don just carried the torch.
[00:13:37] Jerry Crasnick: And what about Gene Love, Gene Orza.
[00:13:40] Brett Boone: But it's like you're so smart, it's almost like you're on a different.
You're living in a different world than everybody else. So interesting character. Love him. He was great. But the amount of intelligence especially I was such a young player. So I'm just this wide eyed kid, just happy to be in the big leagues. And I'm, I'm seeing this side of it. It's eye opening, like, whoa. I didn't know all this existed. So it was pretty, it was a whirlwind change up.
[00:14:05] Jerry Crasnick: Hit on the ground to Brett Boone.
He throws Eisenreich out and retire.
So the 94 thing, obviously for your career in your involvement in the union was kind of a seminal event.
Can you just go back to where you were in your career and how things unfolded for You.
[00:14:26] Brett Boone: Well, for the record, everybody said that year the Montreal Expos were going to win the whole thing. Look at the Cincinnati Reds that year. We were wire to wire, first place. David Johnson was our skipper. It was my first full year in the big leagues, and I was coming off a really good year. I hit.320 that year. And all of a sudden the season stopped and we were getting ready to go to the postseason. We were handling the lead of our division. We had a great team. Those 94, 95 red teams are really good. And I just want to get that one in for all you Expos fans that thought if it was a foregone conclusion, Reds were really good that year. But no, I was coming off my first full season, and I was now pretty established as a big league, big league second baseman.
So I was just kind of like, wait a minute, what do you mean? There's gonna be no World Series, There should be no playoffs. There's, you know, it was just cut short for all of us. And I just remember, you know, that off season and how long of an off season, because it's like none of us have ever been in this position. When's it going to end? When are they going to open it up? Remember the spring training and they were going with the scabs and all that. And, you know, eventually we got a phone call Monday and it was. We were back to playing the game. And, you know, we were all preparing in the off season for the next season, but it was different because we didn't have any finality and we didn't know when it was going to end.
But eventually it ended and it was back to baseball. As usual. Our opening day starting pitcher was a guy named Rick Reed, who ended up having a long, successful career. He was pitching a no hitter in the sixth or the seventh, and back then, if you cross the line, that was a big deal.
And I remember grumblings in the dugout, like, this guy pitches a no hitter. I mean, he's our teammate. But this is a fresh wound. You know, coming off, he had crossed the line. That was an interesting sidebar to the beginning of the year for me in 95.
Obviously, it's in the best interest of the game to avoid any work stoppage we suffered after the 94 stoppage.
You know, everybody talks about it, and I tend to agree with the Sammy Sosa and the Mark McGwire 98 race and how much excitement that brought to the game. That that did a lot for bringing a lot of fans back to the game. I think you look at baseball, you look at the, look at the salaries, it's thriving and it's doing really well. So how can we keep everybody happy and keep the ball going forward? I think, I think baseball's making such big strides with the international and obviously it goes without saying the show Aotani, but it's not only that you're opening the door up for, you know, Ichiro was one of the guys that, that started the Japanese phenomenon. I think Hideo Nomo was kind of the first guy. But Ichiro put the position players on the map and then Matsui and in New York had a real successful run which paved the way for, for the Japanese players today. But it's not just that. It's, you know, the Dominican's always been a huge, huge part of the game, but now you're, you're drawing from, from Cuba. You know, when I was playing that was kind of, that was forbidden. There were Cuban players. You weren't allowed to go off the island and now you're getting players there. So I think, I think it's great for the game. You're seeing so many different players and it's truly becoming an international game and I think it's thriving and you see that in the salaries.
[00:17:43] Jerry Crasnick: Just as players from the 70s and 80s probably said, Bob Boone helped us get through this hard labor strife as a young player in 94.
Were there voices from up above the veteran guys who personalities who stood out to you for their presence and their leadership?
[00:18:05] Brett Boone: Yeah, I think you know, Tommy Glavin, who ended up being a teammate of mine in Atlanta years later, he was one of the head guys. I remember David Cohn, who I never played with, played against quite a bit. Paul Molitor, who was my hitting coach In Seattle in 2004, one of my favorite players when I first got to the big leagues, there's certain guys you'd come out for the game and watch. I'd watch Bali hit.
He was something, the biggest personality in the room those times, the exception of Lenny Dykstra, who was kind of an opponent, was Cecil Fielder.
And I just remember being this young kid in this room and just quiet as a mouse.
And Cecil would just be smoking a cigar and stand up with one of those hats and he'd stand up and just speak his mind and walk out of the room. And I'm just this young kid going, oh, wow. Well, he hit 50 homers last year, so he can do that. I'm going to sit over here and shut up. But those are the personalities and the guys, I remember.
[00:19:04] Jerry Crasnick: How important was it to have star players like that sticking their neck out?
[00:19:10] Brett Boone: Yeah, these are guys making, you know, at the time those were the 5 million a year guys. And at the time that was top shelf. So they were putting it all on the line. It's very important to have people that are not only the stars of the game, but well respected in the game to be at the forefront.
[00:19:28] Jerry Crasnick: You have really competitive guys with opinions. Could some of these meetings get pretty contentious?
[00:19:35] Brett Boone: I don't remember really contentious amongst the players. I don't really remember that. There were the basic meetings where everybody was involved and then there were meetings where it was just the people, the reps. And then there were higher meetings with just the National League and the American League rep and you know, it would be three or four guys and Donald and his crew. So there were meetings above my head. You know, I was kind of the second tier. You know, I remember going to, going to Capitol Hill and we lobbied Congress.
I remember going to all these senators and these congressmen and it was like, seemed like all they wanted was us to sign a bunch of autographs for their grandkids and Eddie Murray.
They paired us together and it was, you know, they do a young, younger guy and an older guy and Eddie Murray was a veteran and I was a young player. So me and him were hooked up for the day. And I remember we were going to Republicans and Democrats and we came out and they said, what'd you learn? I learned that they like us to sign autographs for them. That's what I learned.
[00:20:36] Jerry Crasnick: Your day roaming Washington with Eddie Murray.
[00:20:39] Brett Boone: Unbelievable.
That was my partner at the time. I grew up watching Eddie Murray. I'm like, oh, this guy's going to be in the hall of Fame. And you know, it's kind of cool.
[00:20:48] Jerry Crasnick: But that experience, while it worked out well, it was a World Series canceled. There were 230 something days of strike. In the overall scheme of things, how much of a test was that for the union?
[00:21:03] Brett Boone: I think to this day, and if you just go track record, it's probably the strongest union in maybe in the world is Major League Baseball.
But I think your strong is your weakest link.
And I remember there were some, there was some hesitation from people in our union at that time and when they'd find somebody that was talking and breaking and back then it was different. You know, I look at today's society and how different it is from a social media. We can grab our phones and let everybody know right now exactly what we're Thinking back then, you had to get a film crew and you had to be in front of a microphone. But if you had a high profile player say something negative to, well, that's going to compromise our leverage.
So it was very talked about as, let's keep this tight in house.
And for the most part, yeah, but if there was somebody that was grumbling, they'd send one of the, you know, one of the top guys after him or somebody that they would listen to and have a talk with him and try to keep them in line. And it's a tough thing, you know, how far are you willing to go and what are you willing to risk to get an end result? Some guys will just, they'll have their beliefs and they'll fight till the end, no matter what, because that's what they firmly believe.
Where's it going to hurt the game? Where's it going to help the game?
But I look at the players making money now and I'm scratching my head. It had to be what my dad was watching. Our generation, let alone my grandpa. You know, I remember Gramps used to tell me the story. He said, you know, and I don't get the numbers right all the time when I tell these, but he said, back then there was no agents. He negotiated with the owner of the team.
And my grandpa led the league in RBIs. And I think he was making 26,000 a year and he led the league in RBIs. And he went in and he wanted a raise to like 30,000.
And I think he told me, he said, you know what my owner told me? He goes, ray, we can finish in third place without you leading the league in RBIs. And he got like a $1,200 raise and that was the end of it.
So what my grandpa had to be thinking, even in my dad's generation, like, wow, guys are starting to make millions of dollars.
He was probably blown away. And then my dad, to our generation, where at the end of my career, you know, the big boys, with the exception of Alex, Alex was the only one making 25, but the big boys were all making around 10. And that was a lot of money. And now I look at this and I go, holy Toledo.
The great players are making 35 and 40, you know, and the outlier is the Ohtani's and Soto, if you're a great pitcher now, you're making $32 million a year.
When the money gets bigger, does that change the negotiations? Sometimes, but it's all relevant too, you know, 5 million back in the day or to my grandfather's $30,000 a year. It's all relative for the time.
[00:24:02] Jerry Crasnick: One of the themes I think we've heard from some of the veteran guys is the importance of the veteran guys telling the young kids, look, if there's a lockout or a strike and it shuts down, we'll take care of you, or we'll help you financially if we have to.
Did you see that at play and do you believe in that concept?
[00:24:25] Brett Boone: That's why they did the licensing.
You know, every year you get licensing money for everything With a Major League baseball logo, you split it with the owners.
And so I remember going into that 94, because I remember after the 93 year, you know, where's my licensing check? Oh, we're going to withhold them this year, you know, because there could be a storm brewing. And so they withheld those. And then 94, we had some money built up. So at the time, you know, I was just getting out of making the minimum Major league baseball. So it's not, you know, having that one on the side. That was plenty of money for me, you know, now if you're making 5, 6 million, and. And here's 40,000 on the side, it's like, no, I'm used to making five or six. But for the young player, it was like, this is great. You know, I just. I was in the minor leagues a couple years ago making 900amonth. So this money is big money. And they withhold the licensing money and kind of have a war chest. But that was it for us. And I remember that off season, you know, we get dispersed checks here and there. You get a check every couple weeks for whatever your value was, of course, of what you had banked in there.
And then if somebody. If there was a. A dire situation.
Yeah, they would. On a case by case basis, they'd come in and take care of guys.
[00:25:37] Jerry Crasnick: It is kind of funny that you keep hearing salary cap, salary cap, and you heard that all through the 94 thing.
[00:25:44] Brett Boone: Yeah, and my dad heard that before me.
Times change.
I don't know. I'm not involved in that anymore, so that's not my business. But. But, you know, I never thought just a couple years ago ended up being.
One of the best changes they made is when the pitch clock was coming out.
And a lot of people were pleasantly surprised at how good the pitch clock works. So now if we're doing in the media, it's like, well, I kind of know this game's gonna be over in two hours. And 40 minutes when I was doing my podcast and I had to cover something I'd be doing, I know this game's gonna be over at this time.
I think it's good for the consumer too. In retrospect, I think it was one of the great moves that I think guys like me, who I'm kind of a purist in the game, grew up in the game, I don't like that much change, but I was pleasantly surprised but how much it accepted and that's why you keep an open mind. You know, I've always been that way about the game. I've always been a purist and don't change it. You know, it's baseball and it's the greatest game in the world in my opinion for a reason. So less change is better.
But as I get a little bit older, I kind of keep an open mind. You have to, I think if you're narrow minded and you get off my lawn and my generation was the best and we did it the right way, this game will run you over. You got to change with the times, you know, and working with the young players today, I've had many conversations and I thought, you know, the, the best scenario here is, you know, I've got a lot of time logged in this game now and a lot of experience and a lot of life experience that I can really pass on to you and help.
And when I was a 23 year old player, I'll tell you the mistakes I made so you don't make them. When I was a 30 year old player, I'll tell you the mistakes I made so maybe we can avoid that. That's my job.
But at the same time, as much experience as I have, I can learn from these young players too. In baseball, it's like I got a ton that, that I can pass on to you, but I don't want to make the mistake of not listening to what you have to say because maybe there's some new things that new techniques and new things that we didn't think about. And I'm going, wow. And there are some things in the game now that I'm envious of and think, man, if I would have had these when I was playing, I would be oh, like a kid in a candy shop. So I think we can learn from one another.
[00:28:06] Jerry Crasnick: You did play until 2008.
[00:28:09] Brett Boone: Well, 2008, I came back with the Washington Nationals.
[00:28:13] Jerry Crasnick: Yeah, yeah.
[00:28:14] Brett Boone: And I wanted to play one more year and got ready, got in shape, good as I could be, got to camp.
It was the End of spring training, Jim Bowden was our general manager with the Washington Nationals.
And he was my general manager in Cincinnati. And that's why I chose the Nationals to come back, because of that relationship.
And he said, boney, what do you got? And I said, need a little more time to get ready. And I hadn't been in AAA since 1992 and I said, let me go to Columbus and play and see if I really want to do this. And I went down there for 15 days, did okay, held my own, but it was tough. And I remember Tim Foley was our manager in aaa.
And I remember a Saturday night game coming into the ballpark on Sunday and I look at the lineup, there's no lineup card.
And I walk into the skip's office and he looks at me and he smiles. He goes, got anything to say to me? I said, I don't know if I can go today. He goes, that's why the lineup's up. Because he, you know, I was 37 years old. And he goes, I know how your, your legs feel.
You know, flashback to when I was a kid. If you ever told me I can't play a day game after a night game, you're crazy. Isn't everybody feel like me when I'm 24.
But when you get to that age, you realize, I remember early in my career Barry Larkin, who was my, was my shortstop for five years in Cincinnati, you know, and he's probably four years my senior, four or five years, and he'd be walking around a clubhouse with ice head to toe. And I'm this 24 year old kid going, really, are you that old? He goes, you play on this turf for a little while longer and say how you feel? Well, then go to 37. I felt like what Barry had told me about. So yeah, that was the last time I was ended up in the end, the Nationals that year, I was in spring training with them and they were going to lose 100 games. And I just thought, you know, at my best playing this game, 162 games on a good team is hard enough, let alone being half of what I used to be on a team that's going to lose 100 games. That didn't sound very appetizing to me. But for me I had, I was at a point in my life where I'd walked away, but, but I thought it was premature and I just wanted some closure.
So I got myself in the best shape I could be in, went back and I found out what I was and I was a shell of What? I was in my prime, so it was an easy decision to walk away at that point. And since then, I've never had any regrets. I never looked back. And I just look back on my career with positive memories.
[00:31:07] Jerry Crasnick: Did you stay involved in the PA? Like, 2002 was a little hairy. They almost got to a strike. Were you.
[00:31:15] Brett Boone: I was. I wasn't the rep, but I was kind of tuned into what was going on. I think Joel Pinero, who was a young player on the Mariners back then, he was really involved, and I had done my time, so I was kind of hands on. And. And was.
What would you call me?
[00:31:32] Jerry Crasnick: Was that so Yeri?
[00:31:34] Brett Boone: Yeah.
[00:31:34] Jerry Crasnick: Elder statesman.
[00:31:36] Brett Boone: Elder statesman. And Joel would come to me and. And ask me questions and, you know, if I needed to sit in on a meeting. But, yeah, I wasn't. I didn't have an official role as the rep. The younger players were. And I encouraged it, and I encouraged everybody. You know, I said, hey, get in there. Get involved. Get educated.
[00:31:55] Jerry Crasnick: You're in a room with a bunch of young kids right now who are about ready to go through maybe a big labor negotiation.
What would you say to them?
[00:32:05] Brett Boone: Educate yourself. Know what you know, because you're going to have a say in that room.
Say it from an educated perspective, because the people that know what's going on, they're going to respect that.
Don't put your head in the sand and say, take care of it and then bitch about it. Find out what's going on, because you really don't have an opinion unless you know the facts. I think the players should be involved, know what you're getting, know the facts, know what you're getting into.
So whatever position you're going to take, you can do it from an educated perspective.
[00:32:37] Jerry Crasnick: Brett, in May of last year, you came back, spent six months as hitting coach of the Texas Rangers. It was the first time you had ever been a hitting coach in the major leagues. What new things did you learn? And in general, what are some of your thoughts on maybe different developments in the state of the game today?
[00:32:55] Brett Boone: Things are different now, you know, and of course, I'm not going to sit here and lie and say, oh, everything's the greatest now. No, I like the way we played the game. I like a lot of aspects to that.
For me, from a personal standpoint, I hate the no contact at second base. That's where I earned my stripes.
Anybody could play second base. But where you earned your money and where you elevated yourself to a different level and became an elite player was how you handled yourself around the bag with somebody trying to knock you in the left field with the game on the line, you got to turn this double play. That's where I earned my money. And now I tease the second baseman. You know, Simeon was with me, said the peanut lady can turn a double play now. And he laughs. Of course I'm kidding. But yeah, so there's little things like that. I think the replays are great for the foul fair, the force plays at first. I think the replays are out of control in the tag plays. So of course there's a give and take. This, this pitch clock. It's great. Love it.
So there are definitely positive things, but there's there are definitely things that I wish would stay the same. But for the most part, once again, it's still baseball. It's still the greatest game. It's still the been a part of not only my life, but my family's life for a long time.
[00:34:14] Jerry Crasnick: Thanks to Brett Boone for his multi generational perspective and insight. This has been an episode of the MLBPA Stitch by Stitch podcast connecting players from the past, present and future. Thank you for listening.
This episode was written and produced by Jerry Krasnick with research and production support from Pablo Ocariz, Pablo Bowser, Jordan Score, and Eva Amarez. This episode was edited and mixed by Mark Levine, with additional video editing from David Hattie and and Michael Scribonia. Our supervising producer was Rachel Gross.
Emily Kless provided art direction and media strategy and our executive producers were Roz Guevara and Gretchen Mueller. The Stitch by Stitch podcast is an MLBPA Audio original.
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