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‘Boooooone’ Works to Get Bat In Shape : Catcher Refuses to Rely on His Defensive Skills

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Times Staff Writer

The Angel radio announcers are always quick to remind their listeners that those aren’t boos you hear when catcher Bob Boone steps to the plate, just loyal fans chanting, “Boooooone.”

Maybe so, but how can they be so sure? After all, the guy was hitting .159 and had three hits in his last 30 trips to the plate going into Saturday’s game against Milwaukee.

They can be sure about one thing, though. Boone has more fans, friends and assorted defenders than most superstars. Call it the Bob Boone Defense League if you like, but a mere mention of his latest slump around Anaheim Stadium will elicit more testimonials than a Dean Martin roast.

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“I can’t even imagine how many games he’s won for us in the last three years just by the way he’s handled pitchers and set up hitters,” General Manager Mike Port said. “Batting average aside, Boone is the consummate professional. He’s constantly working at improving.”

Not to be outdone, Angels Manager Gene Mauch said, “I accept Bob Boone for what he can do (without the bat). He’s searching for an answer. If he was content, I’d be concerned.”

Boone is a long way from content. In fact, although he’s glad for all the support, he insists that his defensive skills and knowledge of the game just aren’t enough.

“You have to contribute offensively to play this game,” he said, “and it’s no fun if you don’t. It’s no fun if you don’t feel like your carrying at least one-ninth of the load offensively.”

Boone isn’t ready to talk about turning points yet, but after getting just 10 hits all year, his two-single, two-RBI performance Sunday in the Angels’ 4-3 win over the Brewers was at least worth a smile.

“When you’ve been swinging the bat like I have recently, anything like this is encouraging,” he said, “but it doesn’t mean a lot. The last five games or so I’ve been confused and frustrated at the plate. Hitting the ball hard at people is one thing, but I’ve been really confused up there lately.”

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Boone, a lifetime .254 hitter, struggled through a .202 season last year and got off to a terrible start this spring. He knows whose name will be on the lineup card at catcher most days, but he isn’t about to sit pat and live off his defensive reputation.

So, at 9 a.m. Saturday morning, while his son Aaron was wondering why his dad wasn’t at his Little League game, Boone was in the batting cage with Angel hitting instructor Moose Stubing.

“We did something a little unusual for me, and I must admit it felt better,” Boone said. He declined to comment further, saying, “Talk to me in a week or so, and if I’m still going good, we’ll talk about it.”

Stubing, however, wasn’t quite as secretive.

“We were working on trying to get his body balanced,” Stubing said, “We spread him out and we came out of it with what we wanted . . . it showed today. He’s more comfortable and confident.”

Stubing widened Boone’s stance, taking away his stride toward the pitcher. “He’s almost flat-footed now,” Stubing said. “He was having trouble getting his hands and body together, and so we just took the body out of the swing.”

It’s hardly as simple as it sounds, though, which is the reason for Boone’s reluctance to talk about the change or call Saturday a turning point.

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Boone, 37, has been a major leaguer for more than 12 years--so long, in fact, that if he lasts another three years, he probably will have played more games at catcher than anyone in baseball history. He’s currently 14th on the all-time list (1,540), less than 400 games short of leader Al Lopez (1,918).

He works very hard during the off-season, incorporating a martial arts exercise program he learned while with Philadelphia with a vigorous regimen of swimming, running and conditioning.

“It makes me feel younger and keeps me mentally prepared, too,” Boone said. “If my legs hold out, hopefully I can last a couple of more years.”

And, if his bat comes around, he might last a lot longer.

“When you’re going bad, you’re thinking about a million different things up there,” he said. “So I just try to go back to the basics.”

So, while two singles in one day isn’t going to propel him into a race for the batting title, it will, he admitted with a smile, let him “sleep a little easier tonight.”

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