Final hurdle
A major moment for Boone
Vet becomes first big leaguer to play again after open-heart surgery
By JOSE DE JESUS ORTIZ
Copyright 2009 Houston Chronicle
Sept. 2, 2009, 9:08PM
With the rehab assignment complete, he joined the club Friday in Arizona, was activated Tuesday in Chicago and in the lineup against the Cubs on Wednesday.
“I think it’s satisfying,” he said. “It just makes me feel really blessed that my surgery went well and my recovery has gone well and has allowed me to get to this point and be in this position here with a month to go. I feel very fortunate and grateful it’s worked out this well.”
Boone’s teammates are glad to see him playing again.
“He’s a great character guy,” Berkman said. “That’s one of the reasons we signed him in the first place. I don’t know too many guys who make the effort to come back from open-heart surgery, and it’s really incredible that he can, considering the procedure he had done.
“I thought he was done permanently, not just this year. It’s a testament to him wanting to come back. It’s great that he’s going to get an opportunity to play. And everybody across baseball is happy to see him out there.”
CHICAGO — Aaron Boone walked onto Wrigley Field, felt the cool breeze on his face and looked beyond the historic ivy-covered walls and beyond Waveland and Sheffield. For as far as the eye could see, there wasn’t a cloud in the sky Wednesday afternoon as Boone returned to the Astros’ lineup less than six months after open-heart surgery.
Babe Ruth called his shot here during the 1932 World Series, 16 years after the Cubs moved into this baseball Mecca. Hall of Famer Ernie Banks, Mr. Cub, coined his “Let’s play two” mantra playing at Wrigley, a stadium that has been called home by Hall of Famers Billy Williams, Jimmie Foxx, Rogers Hornsby and Ryne Sandberg, to name just some of the 45 former Cubs enshrined in Cooperstown.
Some of baseball’s greatest moments have been played inside the “friendly confines,” and Aaron John Boone added a new chapter by becoming the first player in major league history to return to action after open-heart surgery.
“I was a little nervous taking the field,” he said after going 0-for-3 in the Astros’ 2-0 loss. “I was fine (Tuesday) night. And then running out there I was a little nervous. I got in the flow of the game pretty quick, and at first I just handled the ball a lot. Once we got going, I felt pretty good.”
A long road back
Starting at first base in place of Lance Berkman, Boone completed his comeback in the finale of the three-game series, providing an inspiring light to an otherwise disappointing season by the 2009 Astros.
“It’s great to get back out there and be a part of a real game,” he said. “It didn’t go our way, but it’s good to get out there and get the competitive juices flowing and deal with your nerves.”
Signed this winter to platoon at third base with Geoff Blum, Boone, 36, was stunned after a routine spring training physical revealed acceleration in his bicuspid aortic valve condition. Born with two aortic valve leaflets instead of the normal three most folks are born with, Boone tearfully announced to his Astros teammates on March 18 that he needed open-heart surgery.
“Well, I’m just tickled that the guy’s back and healthy, first of all,” manager Cecil Cooper said. “That’s important because health comes first. It looks like he’s got all the clean bills of health and all the things and he’s good to go. This is all secondary, but I know he’s excited, and I’m excited for him. He’s a good person. You know he’s worked hard to get to this point.”
In the days after he left the club on March 18, Boone wrote “goodbye” letters to his immediate family and gave them to a friend to keep and deliver just in case he didn’t survive the eight-hour procedure he underwent March 26. A large scar down his upper torso now serves as a reminder of the surgery, along with the memories of the trepidation he felt the day he announced his departure to his teammates.
Once he regained consciousness after the surgery, his father, Bob, and brother, Bret, also former major leaguers, were sitting in his room. At that point, the grandson of former major leaguer Ray Boone merely wanted to hear his family’s voices.
Although Boone lost 15 pounds off his 200-pound frame in the days after the surgery, the initial post-surgery swelling was jarring.
“I think I was real swollen that first day,” Boone said. “I think Bret was a little taken back by how I looked.
“I felt good. It felt good to be alive. You’re kind of out of it; you’re kind of drugged up a little bit.”
By June 9, he was visiting his Astros teammates at Minute Maid Park. Fifteen days later, he was taking batting practice and ground balls with the team. On Aug. 10, he began a rehab assignment with Class AA Corpus Christi and Class AAA Round Rock.
A major moment for Boone
Vet becomes first big leaguer to play again after open-heart surgery
By JOSE DE JESUS ORTIZ
Copyright 2009 Houston Chronicle
Sept. 2, 2009, 9:08PM
With the rehab assignment complete, he joined the club Friday in Arizona, was activated Tuesday in Chicago and in the lineup against the Cubs on Wednesday.
“I think it’s satisfying,” he said. “It just makes me feel really blessed that my surgery went well and my recovery has gone well and has allowed me to get to this point and be in this position here with a month to go. I feel very fortunate and grateful it’s worked out this well.”
Boone’s teammates are glad to see him playing again.
“He’s a great character guy,” Berkman said. “That’s one of the reasons we signed him in the first place. I don’t know too many guys who make the effort to come back from open-heart surgery, and it’s really incredible that he can, considering the procedure he had done.
“I thought he was done permanently, not just this year. It’s a testament to him wanting to come back. It’s great that he’s going to get an opportunity to play. And everybody across baseball is happy to see him out there.”
CHICAGO — Aaron Boone walked onto Wrigley Field, felt the cool breeze on his face and looked beyond the historic ivy-covered walls and beyond Waveland and Sheffield. For as far as the eye could see, there wasn’t a cloud in the sky Wednesday afternoon as Boone returned to the Astros’ lineup less than six months after open-heart surgery.
Babe Ruth called his shot here during the 1932 World Series, 16 years after the Cubs moved into this baseball Mecca. Hall of Famer Ernie Banks, Mr. Cub, coined his “Let’s play two” mantra playing at Wrigley, a stadium that has been called home by Hall of Famers Billy Williams, Jimmie Foxx, Rogers Hornsby and Ryne Sandberg, to name just some of the 45 former Cubs enshrined in Cooperstown.
Some of baseball’s greatest moments have been played inside the “friendly confines,” and Aaron John Boone added a new chapter by becoming the first player in major league history to return to action after open-heart surgery.
“I was a little nervous taking the field,” he said after going 0-for-3 in the Astros’ 2-0 loss. “I was fine (Tuesday) night. And then running out there I was a little nervous. I got in the flow of the game pretty quick, and at first I just handled the ball a lot. Once we got going, I felt pretty good.”
A long road back
Starting at first base in place of Lance Berkman, Boone completed his comeback in the finale of the three-game series, providing an inspiring light to an otherwise disappointing season by the 2009 Astros.
“It’s great to get back out there and be a part of a real game,” he said. “It didn’t go our way, but it’s good to get out there and get the competitive juices flowing and deal with your nerves.”
Signed this winter to platoon at third base with Geoff Blum, Boone, 36, was stunned after a routine spring training physical revealed acceleration in his bicuspid aortic valve condition. Born with two aortic valve leaflets instead of the normal three most folks are born with, Boone tearfully announced to his Astros teammates on March 18 that he needed open-heart surgery.
“Well, I’m just tickled that the guy’s back and healthy, first of all,” manager Cecil Cooper said. “That’s important because health comes first. It looks like he’s got all the clean bills of health and all the things and he’s good to go. This is all secondary, but I know he’s excited, and I’m excited for him. He’s a good person. You know he’s worked hard to get to this point.”
In the days after he left the club on March 18, Boone wrote “goodbye” letters to his immediate family and gave them to a friend to keep and deliver just in case he didn’t survive the eight-hour procedure he underwent March 26. A large scar down his upper torso now serves as a reminder of the surgery, along with the memories of the trepidation he felt the day he announced his departure to his teammates.
Once he regained consciousness after the surgery, his father, Bob, and brother, Bret, also former major leaguers, were sitting in his room. At that point, the grandson of former major leaguer Ray Boone merely wanted to hear his family’s voices.
Although Boone lost 15 pounds off his 200-pound frame in the days after the surgery, the initial post-surgery swelling was jarring.
“I think I was real swollen that first day,” Boone said. “I think Bret was a little taken back by how I looked.
“I felt good. It felt good to be alive. You’re kind of out of it; you’re kind of drugged up a little bit.”
By June 9, he was visiting his Astros teammates at Minute Maid Park. Fifteen days later, he was taking batting practice and ground balls with the team. On Aug. 10, he began a rehab assignment with Class AA Corpus Christi and Class AAA Round Rock.
