#47 09/16/87 – Royals Stadium, Kansas City - Bob Boone Breaks ML Career Games Caught Record

Although 1987 was a rather disappointing season for the Angels, one game stands out as being special. On a Wednesday evening in Kansas City, Bob Boone caught his 1,919^th Major League game, passing Al Lopez for first place in games caught on the all-time list.

Although Boone didn’t record a hit in the game, the Angels managed to beat the Royals 6-4. Billy Buckner was the offensive hero for the Halos, going 3 for 4 with a pair of doubles, two runs scored, and two RBI. Wally Joyner, Ruppert Jones, Devon White, and Dick Schofield also had multi-hit games. Greg Minton earned the win, and rookie DeWayne Buice got his 16^th save on the year.

But it was Boone who dominated the post-game radio talk shows. Boone would finish the year with his second straight Gold Glove Award, the third of four he would win with the Angels, after nailing a LL 46.3% of potential base stealers. His offensive numbers were typically low, but he did successfully lay down 14 sacrifice hits, becoming the Angel’s career leader in that category.

Boone’s final total of 2,225 games caught was eventually passed by Carlton Fisk in 1993, and later by Ivan Rodriguez in 2009. But his Angels’ record of 961 games caught still stands.