Boone Back in Swing--Sort of : Angels Not Expecting Raines-Like Return From Catcher

Having had ample time to think about it, Bob Boone has plotted a course of action for the day he finally returns to the Angel lineup.

“I’m planning to do what (Tim) Raines did,” Boone says.

Boone is joking, of course. There will be rain in the Sahara before Boone duplicates the smash return of Raines, the free-agent outfielder who hit a grand slam in his first game back with the Montreal Expos--then followed it with two game-winning home runs in the next three days.

Most likely, Boone will break back in with a bunt. And maybe a ground ball to second, hit behind the runner. And if the pitcher is a bit sloppy that day, maybe a flare off the end of the bat that plops onto the shallow outfield grass for a single.

The Angels didn’t re-sign Boone for his hitting. He may have been able to fool Mother Nature last season by winning a Gold Glove while pushing 40, but with a bat in his hands, Boone looks and acts like a 39-year-old catcher with bad knees.

In his five seasons with the Angels, Boone has a batting average of .237. In 1984, he hit .202. And last year, with the benefit of spring training and the good fortune of an injury-free season, he batted .222.

This year, Boone had no spring training--unless one counts the three-day stopover he just finished in Palm Springs. It was part of the price he paid choosing free agency Jan. 8. In those weeks when the oldest catcher in baseball should have been in Mesa, Ariz., Boone was at home in Villa Park, waiting for a phone call that never came.

By opening day, it became apparent that Boone’s employment opportunities had been narrowed to two: California or bust. So, he would rejoin the Angels--but not before May 1, the re-enlistment deadline.

Thus, in April, while other Angels trained their batting eyes on the offerings of Mark Langston, Bert Blyleven and Jack Morris, Boone tried to get ready for major league pitching by hitting against mechanical pitching machines and the finest arms on the El Dorado High School baseball team.

Boone worked out at the Placentia school, simulating game conditions with members of the varsity team, which includes his son, Bret.

As Angel hitting coach Moose Stubing put it, that’s hardly a substitute for the major league experience.

“He can go to all the high schools he wants, but he’s not going to simulate the atmosphere you find here,” Stubing said.

Nor would he find it at Palm Springs, the Angels’ Class A minor league affiliate, which is one reason Angel Manager Gene Mauch called off Boone’s stint there after three days.

Boone has yet to make his first major league plate appearance of 1987. He will probably bat here during the Angels’ three-game series with the Boston Red Sox.

Stubing used another free-agent catcher, Boston’s Rich Gedman, as an example. After re-signing with the Red Sox May 1, Gedman batted twice against the Angels last weekend. He struck out swinging--flailing is a better description--both times.

“Six pitches, six strikes, six misses,” Stubing said. “He looked bad on breaking balls. Why? Because he wanted to make sure a fastball wouldn’t get by him.

“Pitchers are going to try that with Boonie. They’ll test him with fastballs inside, to see if he gets around on it.”

Mauch said he expects Boone to get a few at-bats in Boston, largely because of the catcher’s track record against Red Sox pitching. Last season, Boone batted .290 against Boston during the regular season and .455 during the playoffs.

“He can catch right now,” Mauch said. “I watched him in Palm Springs and the way he moved back there, it was almost poetic. He looked as good as ever.

“But right now, the other guys (Angel catchers Butch Wynegar and Darrell Miller) are a little further along with the bat. It’d be a shame if they weren’t.”

What Mauch likes best about the situation is that he can afford to be patient with Boone. Unlike recent seasons, the Angels have depth at catcher and don’t feel the necessity to rush Boone back into the lineup.

“We’re not like Boston, which has (Danny) Sheaffer and (Marc) Sullivan batting a buck-fifty apiece,” Stubing said. “With them, it’s ‘Get Geddy up! Get Geddy up!’ We’re not desperate.”