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The Washington Nationals’ longtime vice president Bob Boone is leaving the organization following his refusal to get the COVID-19 vaccine. The Nationals mandated vaccines for all non-playing employees Aug. 14 and gave them until Sept. 15 to comply. The 73-year-old Boone is one of an undisclosed number of employees to part ways with the organization due to the mandate. The team had already informed eight scouts that their contracts will not be renewed last season, based on their unwillingness to get vaccinated.
Boone, a catcher with the Philadelphia Phillies, California Angels and Kansas City Royals from 1972 to 1990, also managed the Royals from 1995 to 1997 and the Cincinnati Reds from 2001 to 2003. The four-time All-Star and seven-time Gold Glove Award winner joined the Nationals in 2005 when the team relocated to Washington, D.C., from Montreal. Boone is also the father of New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone and former player Bret Boone.
The Nationals and Houston Astros are the only two known MLB teams to implement vaccine mandates. MLB teams can’t mandate that players be vaccinated because of the league’s collective bargaining agreement with the players union.
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