Bob Boone, the World Series-winning All-Star catcher whose father and two sons also played Major League Baseball, has passed away at 78. A cause of death has not been revealed. The second cog in baseball’s first three-generation family dynasty, Bob’s death was reported by Greg Luzinski, a teammate of his on the 1980 World Series champion Philadelphia Phillies. Bob was preceded in death by his father Ray, a journeyman infielder who passed away at 81 in 2004. In addition to his wife, Sue, Bob is survived by his sons Bret, a former All-Star second baseman with the Cincinnati Reds and Seattle Mariners, and Aaron, a long-time infielder and current New York Yankees manager.’His play and mastery of catching inspired me to want to play the position,’ Hall-of-Fame backstop and Philadelphia native Mike Piazza wrote on X. ‘God Bless.’ ‘What a marvelous man and privilege and honor to know,’ long-time USA Today baseball columnist Bob Nightengale wrote on X. Over 19 seasons with the Phillies (1972-81), California Angels (1982-88) and Kansas City Royals (1989-90), Bob played 2,225 games behind the plate, ranking third in MLB history. What’s more, his seven Gold Gloves rank above all catchers besides Iván Rodríguez (13), Johnny Bench (10) and Yadier Molina (nine). And Bob wasn’t just an elite catcher. He also caught some of the best, including three of Steve Carlton’s Cy Young seasons in Philadelphia and one of Bret Saberhagen’s Cy Young campaigns in Kansas City. One Phillies fan described Bob on X by calling him ‘one of the greatest catchers in [baseball] history.’ Aaron Boone (left), the current Yankees manager, is seen with his father Bob in 2020 Over 19 seasons with the Phillies (1972-81), California Angels (1982-88) and Kansas City Royals (1989-90), Boone played 2,225 games behind the plate, ranking third in MLB historyAlthough not known for his bat, Bob did retire with a.254 career batting average and 105 home runs. His best seasons as a hitter came in 1978 and 1979, when he homered 21 times, while hitting.285 with a.356 on-base percentage. He was at his best as a hitter in the postseason, batting.311 with a.353 OBP across 36 playoff and World Series games. Bob famously helped the Phillies win their first World Series title in 1980 by hitting.412 with two doubles, RBIs and a.500 OBP in a six-game win over the Royals.Bob would later manage the Kansas City Royals from 1995 until 1997 and the Reds from 2001 to 2003. It was during the latter managerial stint that Bob would coach Aaron, although Bret was already playing in Seattle by that time. ‘He was a leader as a player, coach and manager,’ former Reds GM Jim Bowden wrote on X. ‘A great son husband father grandfather…gold glove catcher…loved baseball and family at an elite level…high class and character special human being…blessed to have spent many yrs with him.’There are other athletes in the Boone family as well.Bob’s brother Rod played college baseball and later reached Triple-A, while his mother Patsy was a synchronized swimmer and his sister Terry was a champion swimmer in her own right. A journeyman infielder and patriarch of the Boone family, Ray passed away at 81 in 2004 Bret (left) gets some words of wisdom from his father, Bob (right), during the elder Boone’s days as the Cincinnati Reds’ bench coach under then-manager Davey Johnson Catcher Bob Boone #8 of the Philadelphia Phillies in action during a 1973 gamme at the VetBob stuck to baseball growing up, but did show tremendous versatility within the game.Growing up in California, Bob played third base like his father before him, and even pitched at Stanford before being drafted in the sixth round of the 1969 amateur draft and converting to catcher in the minors.He would go to reign as one of baseball’s best defensive backstops, even deep into his 30s, at a time when most catchers are retiring. With California in 1986, for instance, Bob caught 150 games at age 38.’Bob Boone is a freak,’ Angels manager Gene Mauch told the LA Times during the team’s 1986 pennant run. ‘I never dreamed he’d catch that many games. With 125, I’d have been ecstatic.”A-hundred-and-fifty games is not realistic for a 38-year catcher; it’s ridiculous. Except it’s not ridiculous to Bob Boone. I quit being surprised by Bob Boone a long time ago. I’ve never known anyone so mentally tough and impervious to pain.’