#348 - Bob Boone

What a card: Bob Boone had completed his third season with the Angels, hitting an abysmal .202 in 1984. It was that kind of batting that caused the Phillies to unload him in 1981. But Boone would rebound in 1985.

My observation on the front: Bob Boone played a long time and has a lot of cards. But he's never smiled more broadly for a card than on this one. ... OK, maybe the inset photo on his 1983 Topps card could put up a challenge.

More opinion from me: Boone will always be a Phillie to me. None of this Angel and Royal stuff.

Something you might know: Boone is the middle part to the first three-generation family in baseball. His dad is Ray Boone and his sons are Aaron and Bret Boone.

Something you might not know: Boone endured a dreadful 1981 in which he couldn't hit or field. Normally a fantastic defensive catcher, he was so poor at throwing out runners that year that people started calling him "SBE2".

My observation about the back: OK, I never heard of Matthew Boone, so I had to look him up. It turns out he was drafted by the Tigers and played in the Tigers and Reds organizations between 1997-2003. He never made it above Class A. I'm sure he's done quite well for himself since, but in a less forgiving family of similar success, man I wouldn't want to come home after that.

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