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Family affair Boone to become sixth to manage his son in majors
Updated: Saturday November 04, 2000 2:52 PM
CINCINNATI (AP) -- Third baseman Aaron Boone doesn't expect any special favors now that his father is also his manager. After all, Bob Boone was all in favor of trading away his other son, Bret, just a few years ago, proving that baseball business can be stronger than family ties. "It seems weird, but it's something that's very easy to do," said Bob, who accepted the job as Cincinnati Reds manager on Friday. "I know he'll have no problem with it and I'll have no problem with it." Few families have dealt with the unusual arrangement now facing the Boones. Only five others have managed their sons in major league history. The others were Connie and Earle Mack, Yogi and Dale Berra, Cal Ripken Sr. and sons Billy and Cal Jr., Hal and Brian McRae and Felipe and Moises Alou. The Boones insist it won't be all that new. They've learned over the years that there are times for parenting and times for coaching, and they don't often overlap. Bob said he has never asked Aaron for the scoop on what's going on inside the clubhouse. On the other hand, Bob wouldn't tell Aaron about the front office's inner workings during the past three years, when he was an adviser to general manager Jim Bowden. "It's probably one of the toughest things as a baseball family to do because there are so many touchy issues," Bob said. "I may tell my wife something and say, 'Look, you can't say anything to the kids." "It's something I learned a long time ago not to ask and they don't even ask what's going on." That's true, said Aaron. "It's kind of funny. I'll have teammates periodically ask me what's going on and I'm like, 'I don't know,'" Aaron said. "He really doesn't tell me anything he wouldn't tell anyone else." When Bob came back to town for a second-round interview for the managing job on Thursday, Aaron was one of the last to know. "He called me after the interview and I said, 'Why are you here?' He didn't say much about it," Aaron said. "Then he stayed the night here and he told me I had to take him over to the stadium in the morning, so I kind of had a hunch." Bob didn't let Aaron know what was up until after he had accepted the job. Bob initially was concerned about how his son would handle having his dad as manager, but decided it wouldn't be a problem. "It's a tremendous thing," Bob said. "It's very special. It's very hard to explain." Bob was the Reds' bench coach under Davey Johnson in 1994, when Bret was a second baseman. He got an idea of what it's like to be so close to a son on a team. "It was really a unique relationship," Bob said. "When baseball wasn't there, it was father-son. When baseball was on, it was player-coach. Actually, I got more things done when it was player-coach. When it was father-son, he wouldn't listen to anything." Bob was an adviser to Bowden when the Reds had a chance to trade Bret to Atlanta as part of a five-player deal after the 1998 season. Bret was happy in Cincinnati. Bob was asked what he thought the Reds should do. "I was one of those guys that recommended we trade Bret," Bob said. "That's how much you have to view the game professionally. I've been doing that for 40 years." Like father, the son knows that baseball sometimes takes precedent. "We talk baseball. I'm sure he respects my opinion and I respect his," Aaron said. "When it comes to anything confidential or anything like that, there are certain lines neither of us crosses."
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