All-Star Boone Needs Open Heart Surgery

Aaron Boone's big league career has been a mixture of perseverance, success, triumph and overcoming adversity. The 36-year-old veteran infielder now faces the greatest challenge of his life: Open heart surgery.

In a news conference Wednesday, Boone announced he will have season-ending open-heart surgery to replace a bicuspid aortic valve. During his collegiate career at USC, he first learned of his condition that never threatened his baseball career until now.

Boone monitors his condition on a daily basis, but recently, Dr. Mike Link and team physician Dr. Jim Muntz of Methodist Hospital in Houston collaborated and advised him to move forward with the procedure.

According to espn.com, test results indicated an acceleration in Boone's condition, forcing the 2003 NL All-Star to deal with the present situation. Overall, Boone was not caught by surprise, recognizing one day he would have to take care of his heart problem. 

Doctors informed Boone that he will miss the 2009 season, but has a chance of resuming his baseball career upon full recovery. Since his first priority revolves around his family and health, the 12-year veteran will cross that bridge at a later date.

Boone has been a special asset to Major League Baseball. His clubhouse leadership and legacy on-and-off the field touches the lives of current and former teammates. He knows the feeling of being on top of the world and how to push forward when the odds stack against an individual. 

His heroic and legendary game-winning home run off Boston Red Sox knuckleballer Tim Wakefield in game seven of the 2003 ALCS put the New York Yankees in the World Series This remarkable home run forever enshrined Boone into the baseball record books.

Since his famous homer, Boone has struggled in maintaining consistency during his career. On February 24, 2004, the Yankees terminated Boone's contract after tearing a knee ligament in a pick-up game of basketball. This opened the door for New York to acquire superstar third baseman Alex Rodriguez from the Texas Rangers. 

Boone missed the entire 2004 season rehabilitating his knee and relied on perseverance to get back on the baseball diamond. The Yankees gave Boone the option of returning as the team's starting second baseman for the 2005 season, but instead, he signed a two-year deal with the Cleveland Indians. This precious opportunity allowed him to wear an Indians' uniform like his grandfather, Ray Boone, who began his career in Cleveland from 1948-53. 

His grandfather was a two-time All-Star and the 1955 AL RBI champion as a member of the Detroit Tigers. Four-time All-Star Bob Boone, Aaron's father, won seven Gold Glove Awards during his 19-year career and managed him in Cincinnati from 2001-03. Older brother, Brett Boone, was a three-time All-Star and two-time Silver Slugger Award winner, hitting .266 with 252 home runs and 1,021 RBIs in his 14-year career. 

Houston teammates showed their support for Boone at the press conference, including GM Ed Wade and manager Cecil Cooper. He signed a one-year, $750,000 contract with the Astros in December and has already made a difference in the clubhouse less than a month into spring training. 

For now, Geoff Blum assumes the starting role at third base and prospect Chris Johnson will be a strong candidate to make the opening-day roster. Entering this season, the Astros' organization made a tough decision not to bring back third baseman Ty Wigginton. Instead, both Blum and Boone were scheduled to platoon at third during the 2009 season in order to give Johnson more time for further development. 

For his career, Boone has hit .264 with 126 HR and 555 RBI with the Reds (1997-2003), Yankees (2003), Indians (2005-06), Florida Marlins (2007) and Washington Nationals (2008). If he never walks out on the field again, Boone will be remembered as a winner, an ideal teammate, and a tremendous role model for kids and the game of baseball.     

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