Let’s clear the air here a bit. Some of these guys we’ve classified as Wankers, might’ve just been bad at baseball in their time with the Braves. However, there might be actual proof that today’s Braves One Year Wanker, Bret Boone, is an actual Wanker.

Braves One Year Wanker, Bret Boone

In November of 1998, the Braves traded Denny Neagle, Michael Tucker, and Rob Bell for Bret Boone and Mike Remlinger. Boone had 2 years of team control (only lasted 1) while Remlinger was a pre-arb guy that ended up being the best piece of the deal for both teams. Coming off 2 straight seasons of mediocrity as a starting pitcher for the Reds, the Braves immediately moved Remlinger to the bullpen where he pitched in 291 games (299.1 IP) over the course of 4 years with a 2.65 ERA.

At this point in his career, Boone was known for his “charisma” and before everyone was doing ’em, big bat flips. In fact, there’s an actual commercial to prove it (thought the commercial came later in his career).

Coming to the Braves, Boone had been named an All-Star and Gold Glover (didn’t really deserve either) and the Braves needed a 2nd baseman as Keith Lockhart (who had the pictures) was removed from the starting gig, but definitely not removed from the team, as that wouldn’t come until 2003. Many thought the Braves made a steal of a deal to grab Boone who was on the cusp of stardom after stalling out a few years prior with the Reds. Unfortunately for the Braves, that wasn’t the case.

Boone wasn’t unplayable, but he was bad, both offensively and defensively. His OPS+? 83. His Defensive Runs Saved? -9. He did get a chance to batflip 20 times, but he didn’t get a chance to do it again the next season with the team, as the Braves had seen enough.

Braves One Year Wanker Bret Boone: He Gone

While I have 0 proof, it wouldn’t surprise me if Boone rubbed Bobby the wrong way as the Braves didn’t keep him around in his last year of control as they sent him, along with Ryan Klesko and Jason Shiell to the Padres for Quilvio Veras, Wally Joyner, and Reggie Sanders. While it wasn’t due to Boone, this ended up being a very bad trade for the Braves as Reggie Sanders was bloody awful and Klesko absolutely mashed in San Diego.

Boone the Wanker

In 2017, when the Weinstein sexual harassment scandal was all over the news, reporter Stephen Cohen was discussing another set of allegations on Twitter that had just been announced, when he received a private message from Boone:

“I got sexually harrased twice today,” he wrote. “The Starbucks girl smiled at me and the woman at rite aid flirted with me.Im gettin a lawyer,unacceptable.lol”

Boone later apologized for the remarks, and while I won’t get anymore into this topic, feel free to see the article linked above if you want to see a wanker in action.

The Boone Makeover

Boone went from a small framed 5’10 2B to a muscle head nearly overnight and was a sensation for 3 years with the Mariners. Then steroid testing ramped up and that was that. While he denied ever using sterods, he was mentioned in Jose Canseco’s book.

And I’ll just leave this here. After seeing this, do you really doubt he juiced?

Thanks for reading about Braves One Year Wanker, Bret Boone. If you enjoyed this, check out all our wonders and wankers in the Braves History category.