Boone’s Summer Is Not a Vacation : Father’s Day: Ex-Angel’s family, business, hobbies create a hectic pace that takes sting out of being out of baseball.

Bob Boone is finally getting a chance to take life easy.

Well, he will as soon as he drops off his son, Matthew, at school. Then it’s time for some rest and relaxation.

That is, after he touches base with a Boone Development Co. construction crew. Then it’s time to play.

Of course, he has to swing by to meet with some business associates. Then he’ll be off to the golf course.

But first, he has to stop by the office . . . throw batting practice to his sons . . . get the car fixed . . . do his daily workout . . . prepare for an upcoming speaking engagement . . .

Welcome to the leisurely life of a former baseball player.

After a major league record 2,225 games squatting behind home plate, Boone is catching up in the other areas of his life. The former Angel is enjoying his time away from the game, but admits that “retiring” has been a little tiring.

“This is really the first summer I’ve had off in my life,” said Boone, 43. “I think I was in junior high the last time I didn’t play baseball during the summer. The only thing is, what happened to all this time off that I was going to enjoy? I’ve only had a chance to play golf twice since spring training.”

Not that Boone is complaining. The effort to become more involved in his business, projects and hobbies, not to mention with his family, created a hectic pace that has removed the sting of being out of baseball.

Boone was released by the Kansas City Royals last September after his 18th season in the major leagues. He tried to hook on with the Seattle Mariners and went to spring training without a contract.

He left without one, too, when the Mariners decided to go with youth over experience.

Being out of baseball has left a tremendous void in Boone’s life. He spent 22 years in professional baseball and, before that, played at Stanford and San Diego Crawford High School.

However, he has managed to fill the time far more easily than he imagined.

“I don’t know if it’s fortunate or unfortunate, but all I’ve been doing is running around from here to there,” Boone said. “The scary thing is, it’s been easy to divorce myself from baseball.

“I was watching Charlie Hough pitch against the Angels a couple of weeks ago and he had that knuckleball working. Man, I don’t miss battling that thing at all or one of those split-finger fastballs. I’m really enjoying being away from baseball.”

But not too far away. The game still commands a large portion of Boone’s life; all that’s changed is his role.

Boone, son of former major leaguer Ray Boone, has been able to spend more time with his three sons, Bret (22), Aaron (18) and Matthew (11). All of whom, of course, play baseball and play it well.

“It’s been really nice to see Bob get to spend more time with the boys,” said Susan Boone, his wife. “He’s never had a chance to be this involved and he’s having a ball.”

There is not much left for Boone to teach Bret, who is considered one of the Mariners’ top prospects. But being able to watch him play is enough.

Bret, who went to El Dorado High School and USC, is a second baseman for Jacksonville, a double-A team for the Mariners. As of last week, he was hitting .291 with eight home runs and 29 runs batted in.

Boone and his wife even spent a week in Jacksonville recently to watch their son play.

However, Boone has been able to work with Aaron and Matthew almost every day.

Aaron was an All-Orange County shortstop for Villa Park this season. He has signed a letter of intent to play at USC and was also drafted by the Angels in the recent amateur draft.

And Matthew, who is still in Little League, recently hit a ball that broke a neighbor’s window-- two houses away .

“It was a nice poke,” Bob Boone said.

“I missed so much with Bret,” he said. “I was 20 years old when he was born. We had a unique relationship and he grew up virtually around the ballpark. But there are a lot of things I’m getting to do with Aaron and Matthew that I didn’t get to do with Bret.”

This week, Boone plans to be in Oklahoma City, Okla., where Aaron will be playing in an all-star game. Later this summer, he will help coach Aaron’s Connie Mack team in a Canadian tournament.

Boone also attends every game in which Aaron and Matthew play.

“It seems like it’s a game every night,” Boone said. “It’s either Little League and Connie Mack or an all-star game. It takes up a lot of time, but it’s well worth it. It was great to be able to see Aaron play in the city all-star game. I don’t know if he notices the difference much, but I do.”

Aaron has noticed.

“We usually do something every day,” he said. “He’ll throw me batting practice or help me with my workout. Sometimes, we’ll just sit and watch a game on television. He’ll point out things that the players are doing and why they did it.”

Boone delivered the baccalaureate at Villa Park High and helped with the decorations for the school’s grad night. He is also planning a summer camping trip with Matthew.

In September, Boone will go bow hunting--his latest hobby--with Bill Buckner in Idaho.

All are activities that were impossible to do in the past.

“There are trade-offs when you play baseball, I always knew that,” Boone said. “You miss out on things with your family. On the other hand, you can do a lot of things with them that other families can’t do.

“Matthew went with me on a road trip last year as the team’s bat boy. We were in Toronto and George Brett--who is Matthew’s big buddy--hit for the cycle. When George hit his home run, he gave Matthew a high-five and they got a photo of it. Matthew will treasure that always.”

Said Aaron: “Basically, we lived a life almost every kid dreams about.”

The extra time with his family has consumed most of his time, but Boone has also become more involved with his business.

Two years ago, Bob and his brother, Rod Boone, formed Boone Development Co., a construction company. Rod Boone, who graduated from Stanford with a master’s degree in engineer construction management, has handled the working end of the business.

The company specializes in commercial construction, but occasionally does residential work. Bob Boone, who has a degree in psychology from Stanford, has taken a more active role in the company, including helping supervise one of the building sites.

The site is the home of Angel catcher Lance Parrish.

“What’s great about having Bob here is that he brings in an entirely different viewpoint,” said Rod, who was a catcher in the Kansas City and Houston organizations. “He may not have a traditional background for this field, but his own background--in contract negotiations and sports itself--is valuable.”

Boone is also spending part of his time working on projects, the most visible of which is a motion analysis program that has been developed by Bio-Kinetics, a company in Irvine.

The program uses video and computer images to help athletes improve their skills. Boone became associated with the program while he was still a player and is trying to help the company gain a foothold in baseball.

The program can measure bat speed and break down a batting stance.

“To me, that’s invaluable,” Boone said. “They film you when you’re hitting well, then you can come back and study it later when you’re in a slump. You’ll see what you’re doing wrong and correct the problem. For me, baseball was just going from one slump to the next and trying to extend the time in between.”

Other projects Boone is planning include a workout video and catching video. There are also baseball card shows to attend and speaking engagements this summer.

“I wanted to do as much as I can this summer,” Boone said. “Because, this fall, I plan to get back into baseball in some capacity.”

Boone’s ultimate goal would be to manage in the major leagues, something he has already been close to realizing. He had been named the manager of the Orlando team, which was one of several cities considered for expansion by the National League.

However, the major league expansion committee voted last week to award the franchises to Miami and Denver. So Boone’s managerial debut has been put on hold.

“It’s not really a career you can plan for, someone has to pick you,” Boone said. “But I’ll go out and solicit a baseball job of some kind this fall. Meanwhile, I’m going to enjoy this summer.”