- 2 days ago
Former Rangers hitting coach Bret Boone joined Shan, RJ, and Bobby to discuss the Rangers' inconsistent first half of the season. Boone talked about why the team should remain buyers despite hovering around .500, the importance of getting Seager back, Langford's development, and more.
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00:00Brett Boone, former Rangers hitting coach, joining us as an Odyssey Baseball insider,
00:05and he has the Brett Boone podcast as well, and it's all brought to you by Grainger.
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00:16Call, click Grainger.com, or just stop by.
00:18Do we have Brett's video, or are we just doing audio with it?
00:22Brett, good morning. You there?
00:23How you doing? Yeah, I had the video up. It went away.
00:26Okay.
00:27What's going on? Is that on my end or on your end?
00:29I don't know. Are you wearing clothes?
00:32I am. I am not nude.
00:37Well, good.
00:39Brett, it feels like we're kind of just treading water throughout this first half with the Rangers.
00:45Of course, as you know, the AL West is the closest division in baseball.
00:50If you're Chris Young right now and you've got the trade deadline still a ways away,
00:54are you thinking about buying, selling, or staying?
00:58I'm still, I'm still, I'm always thinking about buying.
01:01I mean, you, you, you want to win and look at the, look at the league this year.
01:05It's just so strange to me.
01:07I was going over the entire American league.
01:09There's five, there's five teams, 500 or better.
01:12Um, so at this stage of the game, nobody's really out of it.
01:16It's, you know, you look at the, the, the games coming up the Texas range.
01:20It seems like every series they play, they're playing a sub 500 team.
01:23So nobody's out of it at this point.
01:25You know, with the exception of the Yankees and Tampa Bay, uh, Seattle Mariners, there's Seattle Mariners.
01:31You know, we've talked about it throughout the season.
01:32I've always thought that by far the class of this division, but they're not running away with it, with it
01:37either.
01:38They're starting to play better.
01:39So at this point I'm holding serve.
01:41Let's see what happens, getting Langford back, getting this team healthy and see if they can make a run.
01:46Um, so at this point, I don't, I don't think it's either way.
01:50I think a year ago, you know, because we didn't make it because of the injuries down to, down the
01:55stretch, maybe you feel a little snake bit and like, oh, we went for it a little bit.
01:58Got a couple of pitchers in the mix.
02:00Didn't work out for us.
02:02So that's, that's kind of lingering over, over price.
02:04He wise had a little bit, but right.
02:07I know, see why, and the way he is, I mean, he's just pedal to the metal.
02:12We're winning.
02:13We're winning every year.
02:14I've never been around a guy that really kind of wants to win more than him.
02:18So right now he's probably thinking, let's stay in this.
02:21Let's see where we're at.
02:22And we'll make that decision when we have to.
02:23Brett, just click the video on the bottom of that.
02:26We got you on here, but we gotta, we gotta see you.
02:28We gotta see that beautiful hair.
02:29Click the video feature on your zoom.
02:34Here we go.
02:35I just clicked it and it clicks out.
02:37Oh no.
02:39All right.
02:39Well, I'll just have to hear the dulcet tones of your voice.
02:42Brett.
02:43Yeah.
02:44I, I, I really apologize.
02:45I'm right there.
02:46Oh, here we go.
02:47Here we go.
02:48Here we go.
02:51Oh no.
02:53Hold on, hold on.
02:54Hold on, kids.
02:56Oh, God.
02:57I'm clicking video and it won't, it won't, it's got the line through it.
03:01It's all good.
03:02It's got the line through it.
03:03Yeah.
03:05So they've struggled with teams that are below five.
03:07You mentioned there's only a handful of teams that are above 500 in the American League.
03:10They've played decent against teams that are above, not, not so great against teams that
03:13are below.
03:14So have you been on a team like that where you seem to play up to competition and down
03:18to competition and you're, I mean, we're almost halfway through the season.
03:22We're a couple of weeks away from being halfway through.
03:24You kind of are what you are at this point, but have you been on a team and how do
03:28you
03:28get out of that?
03:30You just keep playing.
03:31I mean, I look at the guys to me, what unbelievable turnarounds and I've seen some turnarounds in
03:39my life.
03:40I've had a couple, but to see Josh Young and Ezekiel Duran turn it around like this, it's
03:48polar opposite of 2025 for them.
03:51So I'm looking at with the NIMO edition, Peterson, Jock's not killing it, but to a year ago,
04:00he's killing it.
04:05I mean, Seager hitting 180, that's got to change.
04:11Seager's the key for me.
04:12Seager's got to, if everybody else is doing what they're doing right now and Seager's being
04:18the Corey Seager, I think it's a little bit different.
04:21I think they're above 500 at this point.
04:24He's the key to me and keeping them healthy.
04:26But yes, I've been on teams like this where you just kind of look at each other after
04:29every game, after every series and kind of like, what the hell's going on?
04:33We never know.
04:33You know, you kind of get a feel.
04:35Two weeks ago, you had that feeling, well, this is going to be a long year.
04:38I think they dropped down to five or six under 500.
04:40You thought this is going to be a long year.
04:42And then all of a sudden, they go on a run.
04:43They're, you know, seven out of their last 10, they win.
04:46So you just don't know.
04:47It's frustrating probably as a fan.
04:49Um, but this team, they're, they're just kind of looking around there and go, all right,
04:54let's keep going.
04:54Let's keep going.
04:55Let's keep grinding.
04:56See what, see what comes out of it.
04:57And maybe we can make a real run.
04:59So yeah, I've been on teams like that.
05:02I've been, it's very strange, but there's nothing you can do as a player.
05:07And, and I find that players other than, you know, different than coaches, different than
05:11fans.
05:12They think a lot differently.
05:13When I was playing, I didn't think about all the noise around me.
05:15I just thought win, lose, indifferent, I go home, I get ready the next day I wake up
05:20and we go play again.
05:21So they're, they think much differently than we do.
05:23We tend to analyze everything so much more when the players are kind of in a bubble.
05:28Brett Boone joining us here on one Oh five, three, the fan, uh, Tom Verducci had an article.
05:33It was talking about Manny Machado.
05:34I know you see a lot of Manny being out there in, in, on the West coast.
05:37Uh, but it was also talking about guys who are 31 to 35 and how never before in the history
05:43of the sport have hitters between those ages had a worse batting average and have struggled
05:48compared to league average more.
05:50We're now the first time ever they're hitting worse than guys who are under 25.
05:54And the thought is that the pitching so good, it's so fast.
05:57It just, the sequences aren't the same.
05:59They just can't keep up.
06:00When did you kind of notice that you were a little bit slower that, that fastball you
06:05just couldn't keep up with anymore?
06:09You know, I got to say I was 32 years old, 31, 32 years old, feeling about as good as
06:14I could feel.
06:15I ran into Robbie Alomar one, one time at a bar and I said, Robbie, you know, what's
06:19wrong with you?
06:20He was on the downside.
06:21He's like, Booney, I woke up, felt like I woke up when I was 35 and I was old and
06:26I
06:27just kind of brushed it off.
06:28And I thought, I'll never be old like that.
06:30You know, I take care of myself and I, and I train and, and, uh, I remember doing a contract
06:35negotiation.
06:36They were really, they said the numbers would pan out and after 35, especially guys with
06:41as much mileage as you have on your legs, Brett, uh, start to go downhill.
06:45And I, I, I was oblivious.
06:47I said, you're crazy.
06:49I'll tell you what, I got to 35.
06:51I was old overnight, like they had predicted, like they had predicted.
06:57I don't think it's the pitching.
06:58I, I, I laugh at this pitching, the pitching so much better.
07:01I think it's an excuse why we're allowed to hit two 26 these days.
07:05It's like, no, the, the zones as small as it's ever been, maybe North South, a little
07:11better, but East West, it's as small as it's ever been.
07:14You know what a strike is.
07:15You know what a ball is.
07:16Yes.
07:16The velocity is up without a doubt, but when hasn't velocity been up from generation to
07:21generation and to just be able to say, Oh, they're throwing harder in the spin rates
07:25more, I think it's a built in excuse to, Oh, I can hit two 38, still survive and be okay.
07:31Instead of striving for numbers that have always been set in place.
07:34You know, this OPS thing, I think it, it's a, it's a really good measure for a player,
07:39but to live and die by the OPS.
07:41I think it's, I think it's hurt the game.
07:43I think it's hurt keeping guys on the field.
07:45I think you see a ton of more injuries and it's because you don't have to get out there
07:50and hit a certain amount of home runs, drive in a certain amount of runs.
07:53Cause that's not the criteria to make money.
07:55It's just to have an 800 plus OPS that keeps you in the game.
07:59And that is, that's what gets you paid these days.
08:01So I don't buy into the pitching thing.
08:03Every generation, my grandfather used to say, Oh, Randy Johnson doesn't throw that hard.
08:07Bob Filler used to throw harder.
08:08So what are you talking about?
08:10Randy Johnson's a really good pitcher, you know, and he is up from the Bob Filler.
08:15He's up from Steve Carlton and, and Steve Carlton threw harder than Bob Filler.
08:20That's just life.
08:21That's what we all go through.
08:22That's what these guys come up and are trained to hit.
08:25If, if 90 was the thing for me and in college baseball, 92, that was a guy throwing hard.
08:31Well, not now it's 94.
08:32The guns are all different.
08:33It's all about entertainment.
08:35All we talk about after the game is exit below.
08:37And he was throwing that his spin weight was really, who cares?
08:40Did you win or did you lose the game?
08:41Did you execute?
08:42Did you not execute?
08:43And I think we get caught in the weeds too much with that.
08:46I'm getting way away from it, but 31 to 35.
08:49Yes, it's definitely a downturn.
08:50I think you see the guys that scuffle or the guys that have more miles on their legs than others.
08:56Manny Machado has been in the big league since he's been 19, 20 years old, playing 162 games.
09:00And those guys have more mileage than your typical mid-30s player who did the normal, minor leagues, probably had
09:08some time off.
09:09But the guys that play every year, year in and year out, and avoided injury, that's a lot of miles.
09:16And it does weigh down.
09:17First thing to go, especially as a hitter, is your legs.
09:20My legs went.
09:21I knew it.
09:22I just didn't have that youthful spring that we all are born with and we have for a long time.
09:27And when you lose it, you kind of start to appreciate and look around.
09:31You start to question yourself and what you can do.
09:34Brett, you mentioned Corey Seager kind of being the key to the offense and them bouncing back.
09:39And if you can get Seager back and everybody else is hitting like they are, that might be enough to
09:43keep them competitive.
09:44But we also got back in the last week, Wyatt Langford returned to the lineup after being away for as
09:48long as he was.
09:49And that's a guy that it feels like all Rangers fans have just been waiting for like he's been a
09:53good player for us.
09:54But like we're waiting for him to take that next step up and become a true star in the game.
09:59Do you think he can still reach that this year?
10:03Is he further away?
10:04When you were dealing with him last year, how far away did you think he was from just consistently being
10:07one of the better hitters in the majors?
10:10I thought it was two years.
10:11You know, I think Wyatt and everybody knows why it's one of my favorite guys.
10:15He's just, you know, he's just he knows one speed, 100 percent and just tinkers and he's going to figure
10:23it out himself.
10:23I think what Wyatt's been he got thrust in the big leagues really quick.
10:29And I thought, you know, Wyatt Langford's a guy playing in the big leagues that should be in the minor
10:34leagues working on it.
10:35But he's too talented.
10:37Last year, I think he made strides.
10:39And I figured he's had this put this this label put on superstar.
10:44You know, he's kind of got a body like Mike Trout and they've been making those comparisons.
10:48Well, it's not really fair for anybody to be compared to Mike Trout.
10:51It's like in my generation being compared to Griffey coming up.
10:54It's just not really a fair comparison.
10:56So I don't think the Trout thing is is a comparison I would put on Wyatt.
11:02But I think he's just learning.
11:03He's a he's a he's a work in progress.
11:07And is he I think he's.
11:11To sit here and say I was going to be the best player in baseball one day.
11:14It's like, no, it's like I want to get him to a level where he's going to be a good
11:17all star player.
11:18And let's see if in two, three years he's an MVP candidate.
11:21So I think there's been unfair expectations.
11:24Definitely a talented guy.
11:26Missed a lot of time this year.
11:27But I think this year I expect him to be better than he was a year ago when he gets
11:32to play consistently and stays healthy.
11:33But as far as putting the oh, he's going to be this MVP Corey Seager, that's that's pretty lofty to
11:40put on anybody.
11:40I think Wyatt is what he is.
11:42And I think he's going to be a really good player if he can stay healthy.
11:46I think one day you're going to be talking about Wyatt and MVP conversation, whether he's going to win one
11:51or not.
11:51I don't know.
11:51But when you get to that level, when you're talked about, I think that's that's kind of work making to
11:57that star that stardom level that that people strive to be at.
12:01Brett Boone, every other Wednesday here brought to you by Granger on Sean and RJ on your home for Rangers
12:06baseball.
12:07Your thoughts on a possible salary cap?
12:11Well, I know what I know what the union is going to tell these guys and what we've always been
12:15that baseball.
12:17You've mentioned sour cap, especially hard sour cap.
12:19And the players just go crazy.
12:21No way.
12:22We'll never have it.
12:22We're the only sport that doesn't have it.
12:24Yeah.
12:25Who wouldn't as an owner who wouldn't want to fix, have your costs fixed and in your organization?
12:30Just going through the roof as far as their value and worth billions and billions of dollars.
12:36So hard sour cap is never going to work.
12:38They threw it out there as that first proposal.
12:42Of course, it was low.
12:43Of course, they wanted a reaction from the player.
12:45So in six months from now, they can come back.
12:47And when they've made strides and and and made a better off, they can say, well, this is where we
12:51started from.
12:52Well, anybody could start at ground zero and then come up to four and say, look how far I've come.
12:56So I think that was just kind of putting it out there to get a feel for how the union
13:00would react.
13:02I just think there's so much money in the game.
13:04The revenue is so high internationally.
13:06It's doing so well.
13:08I just they got to find a way to work it out and not stop it.
13:12I was there in 94.
13:13I was a rep.
13:13I went through it.
13:14The game was hurt when we canceled the playoffs in the World Series.
13:18Start thinking about that, too.
13:19When is this going to happen?
13:20Because the leverage comes when the players when the owners have the most to lose.
13:24So if the players decide and they're not going to want to do it, are you going to have a
13:30postseason this year?
13:31Because once you get past the postseason of the World Series, the owners have made all their money.
13:35So now they can just sit on your neck and wait.
13:37So it's going to be interesting the back and forth.
13:40I hope it doesn't happen.
13:41There hasn't been a major work stoppage since 94, but I went through it and it's no fun.
13:46And it took us four or five years to get back.
13:48The fans, they don't like it.
13:50They just want to be entertained.
13:52They want to go to the game.
13:53And when you see both sides, billionaire owners and the players today making $10 million, $20 million, $30 million,
14:01the regular fan that just wants to go watch you play, they don't want to hear about all that nonsense.
14:05And I can't disagree with that.
14:08So hopefully they get it done.
14:09They've had a mix-up on the union side as far as the leadership.
14:14And I just hope these guys get it together and keep it away, keep it out of the public as
14:18much as possible.
14:19And just have a great 2026 season.
14:22I'd hate to see at this point with all the strides they've made.
14:25And I talk about internationally, especially internationally, just to kind of really put a damper on that by either a
14:32lockout or a strike.
14:34Awesome stuff as always, brother.
14:35Thank you so much.
14:36We'll do it again.
14:37Thanks, guys.
14:38Thanks, guys.
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