Few families are as synonymous with Major League Baseball as the Boones, who became the first three-generation Major League family in history when Bret reached the majors with the Seattle Mariners in 1992. The storied legacy began with patriarch Ray Boone, who broke in as an infielder with Cleveland in 1948; followed by his son Bob (1972-1990); and grandsons Bret (1992-2005) and Aaron (1997-2009). Both Bob and Aaron became Major League managers after their playing careers, Aaron currently in his eighth season at the helm of the New York Yankees.
Together, the Boones combined for a remarkable 634 home runs, 3,139 RBIs, and 5,890 hits, with 10 All-Star selections and 11 Gold Gloves.
An Offer He Couldn’t Refuse
Bret retired in 2005, after a 14-year career that included stints with five teams, three All-Star selections, four Gold Gloves and two Silver Slugger awards. Primarily a second baseman, he was known for confidence, swagger, competitiveness and iconic home run bat flips.
A career .266 hitter, his 252 home runs rank 10th among second basemen, past and present.
His best season was 2001 as a member of the historic Seattle Mariners team that won an AL-record 116 games. He hit .331 with 37 home runs and a league-leading 141 RBI, finishing third in the AL MVP balloting. That dream team, under legendary manager Lou Piniella, included future Hall of Fame members Ken Griffey, Jr., Edgar Martinez and Ichiro Suzuki, and a host of outstanding players.
Following retirement, he worked briefly as a minor league coach, roving instructor and scout in the Athletics organization. He also became a prolific podcaster and penned a book, Home Game: Big-League Stories from My Life in Baseball’s First Family (2016), that chronicles life in the Boone family.
So why, after a 20-year hiatus, would the 56-year old retiree consider leaving an idyllic life along the shores of San Diego for the high-stakes, pressure-packed world of Major League baseball again?
“Boch,” he said simply, referring to Bruce Bochy, manager of the Texas Rangers.
“I’ve been out of the game for a while now,” he explained. “I always tell my wife there’s only a few guys I’d work under. And you know, Bruce Bochy’s one of them.”
Boone played under Bochy for just one season with the 2000 San Diego Padres, but the two have maintained a strong friendship since.
Bochy, meanwhile, continues his run as one of the most successful managers in MLB history. The 70-year old’s impressive managerial career spans 28 years, during which he earned one Manager of the Year award and four World Series titles, three with San Francisco and one with Texas. When Angels manager Ron Washington took medical leave in June for the remainder of the 2025 season, Bochy became the oldest skipper, and only septuagenarian, in MLB.
Boone recalled, “I got a call from Boch and he said, ‘Boonie, I need you.’ And I said, ‘when?’ and he said ‘tomorrow.’ I had just got off the beach walking my dog and, you know, I talked to my wife and it was just something I didn’t have to think about very long.”
“No one ever has a negative thing to say about Boch. His credentials as a manager I think speak for themselves, but he’s about as humble and approachable as you can be. He doesn’t like the spotlight. He really doesn’t.”
When the Rangers dismissed offensive coordinator Donnie Ecker on May 4, the team ranked near the bottom of the league in several categories – 26th in batting average (228), 28th in on-base percentage (OBP / .285), 25th in slugging (.359) and 29th in runs scored (113). That’s a far cry from their 2023 World Series team that owned the top-scoring offense in the American League.
“Life is so crazy,” said Boone. “There’s a reason behind this. I’m supposed to do this right now because it was nothing I was looking for. It’s not that it just organically happened. And I thought, you know, this is what I’m supposed to do right now.”
So, on May 5, Boone said yes to the stress and returned to the Majors as the Rangers hitting coach, joining the team of hitting coach Justin Viele and assistant hitting coach Seth Conner.
Toto, We’re Not In Kansas Anymore
Transitioning from player to coach has been an eye-opening adjustment for Boone, who spent many nights calming down his brother Aaron whenever the Yankees experienced tough times.
“I’ll tell you, it’s a lot different than I thought,” he said about being on the coaching side. “He’ll call me and I’ll kind of talk him off the ledge and, and I hang up the phone and wonder how does he get so worried about stuff?”
“And I always tell him there’s only so much you can do. Aaron, you put the players in the best position possible physically, mentally to succeed. And once that game starts, you don’t have much to do with it. And I couldn’t wrap my head around how you can get so caught up in it because I’m not like that.”
Now, however, Boone gets it.
“I know what he’s going through because I live and die with these guys. And I’ve never felt a bigger lack of control of anything in my life,” he said, adding with a laugh, “I have a newfound respect for all those coaches I had through the years that I gave a hard time to. Yeah, I want to apologize to all of them.”
He likens being a hitting coach to watching his own kids play sports, explaining, “I got 14 “kids” and I live and die every day with them. And when they’re doing great, I’m so excited for them. And when they’re not, I’m struggling.”
He explained that his job as a player was to go hard for nine innings, sometimes winning, sometimes losing, sometimes belting a home run, sometimes going hitless. But he knew he could get up the next day and go at it again. As a coach, he can influence the process but not the results.
“When the national anthem ends it’s out of my control. I can’t do anything. I can’t hit for them. I can’t do anything.”
Drive the Data
Boone was a self-described “video rat” during his playing days and recalled spending hours in a cramped room with legendary Mariners video coordinator Carl Hamilton.
“If he could get me some video on a reliever that’s coming, that was gold to me.”
Now he is taking advantage of the sophisticated technology that has evolved over the years, putting massive intel at his fingertips 24/7. And he is learning how much of that data to share with his hitters, recognizing that sometimes too much information can be a detriment.
“Some guys you can give them everything and they’re pros and they know what to do and they weed out, then they take what they need and that’s how they prepare for a game,” he noted.
Getting to know his players and developing relationships with them was his first order of business, especially as he had to play catch up after joining the coaching staff after the start of the regular season.
“I want to know them not just as a hitting coach, but more as individuals. I want to know what makes each one tick.”
And, like all coaches, he takes on the role of psychologist, figuring out how to best prepare his hitters for success.
“You know, I think through a lot of times when I was a player, what would I need from my hitting coach right now? Sometimes it’s just encouragement, but you don’t want to overdo it because then they see right through that,” he said.
Been There, Done That
When his appointment was announced, some critics questioned Boone’s lack of big league coaching experience. However, aside from his baseball DNA, the All-Star appearances, Gold Gloves and Silver Slugger awards combine to give him instant credibility among his players.
“I’m not going to be able to fix you, I’ll tell my players. I can just extend my experience, my struggles, my failures and what I did,” he remarked.
“I can relate to every single emotion they’re going through because I’ve been at the top of the mountain and had MVP years, and I’ve struggled my butt off. I know what it’s like to be both. So they can’t tell me that I don’t know what it feels like. I do. I know what it’s like to be 0-for-15. And I know what it’s like to be 12-for-15 too.”
Wild End to the Season?
The Rangers are clinging to slim playoff hopes after surging into contention in September. They came into a crucial three-game “Silver Boot” series against Houston just two games behind the Astros for the final Wild Card spot. But Houston swept the series and, with just nine games remaining in the regular season, the Rangers now find themselves on the brink of elimination, 4.5 games out of the final AL Wild Card spot. It would be the second year in a row they have missed the playoffs, following their 2023 World Series win.
Boone’s contract runs through the 2025 season and his relationship with the Rangers will be determined at the end of the season. In the meantime, he continues to adapt to his new perspective from the dugout and will no doubt treasure the experience.
“I love seeing the guys, the work they put in and then seeing it come to fruition on the field,” he said. “I think it’s so cool to see a light bulb go off when something clicks, especially when they’ve been struggling. The game’s different now but it’s still baseball. It’s still the greatest game in the world.”