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Bret Boone was hired May 5 as a hitting coach for the Rangers, his first job on a major league staff. Aaron Boone is in his eighth season as the Yankees’ skipper.

鈥淚t hasn鈥檛 happened for us yet in this kind of capacity. So, certainly good to see him,” Aaron Boone said Tuesday afternoon. 鈥淚鈥檓 sure I鈥檒l peek over there at some point during the game and see what his act looks like.鈥�

Prior to the first pitch at Yankee Stadium, the Boone brothers brought the lineup cards to home plate and posed for photos with the umpires.

They had dinner together Monday night, a day off for each team, and both were excited about having their children at the game 鈥� helping to make this week a true family affair.

鈥淗e actually paid the bill last night. So that鈥檚 new,鈥� Bret Boone, 56, said with a grin in the Texas dugout. 鈥淚t was nice. We don鈥檛 get to see each other much. Last time I saw Aaron was Christmas and he came to San Diego. I might pop in Anaheim. So it was good. It鈥檚 good catching up and, you know, there鈥檚 a little more baseball talk, but it鈥檚 more to see my nieces and nephews.鈥�

Both All-Star infielders, the Boone brothers were teammates with the Cincinnati Reds from 1997-98 and played 24 games against each other in the majors.

The last one was April 24, 2005, when Aaron Boone homered for Cleveland in a 9-1 loss at Seattle. Bret Boone went 0 for 3 with a sacrifice fly.

鈥淗e鈥檚 very competitive. I鈥檓 very competitive when it comes to this. I don鈥檛 treat it differently,鈥� Bret Boone said. 鈥淥nce all the fun stuff is kind of over, it鈥檚 kind of business.鈥�

Aaron Boone, 52, recalled boxing against his older brother in the house when they were young kids growing up in a baseball family.

鈥淗e was a great big brother, especially when we were little. Four years older than me, he (dragged) me with him a lot,鈥� the New York manager said. “So, I always say a lot of my athletic development, I give him a lot of credit because when I was 4, 5, 6, 8 years old, I was playing and had to keep up with 12-year-olds. And it was either keep up or get stomped. So, I鈥檓 pretty appreciative of that. He always kind of took me with him.鈥�

Bret Boone said he’s 鈥渧ery proud鈥� of Aaron’s accomplishments, but acknowledged it was “weird鈥� at first to see him managing the Yankees.

鈥淚t was always Bret鈥檚 little brother and then all of a sudden he got the Yankee job and people were saying, `You鈥檙e Aaron鈥檚 brother.’ I said, 鈥榃ait a minute, wait a minute,’鈥� Bret Boone explained.

But now, just like Aaron, he knows what it’s like to be emotionally invested in players on a daily basis from a coaching perspective.

鈥淚鈥檝e lived and died every emotion in this game, but now all of a sudden putting this uniform on in a different capacity than I鈥檝e ever been, I kind of have a little bit of insight on what staffs go through,” Bret Boone said.

“The onus, it鈥檚 a little heavier when you鈥檙e the manager 鈥� but I know what he鈥檚 going through. You live and die with these guys. That鈥檚 the one thing that kind of caught me off guard is, I knew I鈥檇 be invested, I knew I鈥檇 care, but I didn鈥檛 realize how emotionally I鈥檇 get invested with these guys on a daily basis.鈥�

Their grandfather Ray and father Bob were both All-Star players in the majors, making the Boones the first family to produce three generations of big leaguers. Bob Boone also managed the Reds and Kansas City Royals.

With that lineage in mind, Aaron Boone thinks his older brother is well suited for his new job.

鈥淗e’s in such a good place in his life,鈥� the younger Boone said. “I think he鈥檒l be a really steadying force for those guys and I think he has a lot to offer them. Look, he鈥檚 got tremendous baseball knowledge. He鈥檚 been in the game forever. He鈥檚 passionate about it. But I think he鈥檒l have a really good presence with those guys.鈥�

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Freelance writer Larry Fleisher contributed to this report.

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