How good was Bret Boone last season? He exceeded even his own expectations.

Which is saying a lot. Boone, he of the blonde highlights and the sleeveless muscle shirt, is as confident as Russell Crowe at a Chi Omega sorority dance, the sort of player who can swagger while sitting in the dugout. "He's one of those guys you look at as an opponent," Seattle third baseman Jeff Cirillo said, "and you think, 'He's a cocky little s---.' But when you're on the other side, you want him to be on your team."

	Bret Boone was second in the AL with 206 hits last year.

Cirillo goes back a ways with Boone. The two played together at USC more than a decade ago and against each other in the National League, but Cirillo gained a new appreciation for Boone after joining the Mariners this winter. "From what I've seen of him this spring, he's better than I thought he was," Cirillio said. "Better at everything, including being a teammate."

Boone certainly was better than the Mariners expected when they signed him to a one-year contract last year to help replace the offense lost by Alex Rodriguez's departure. Boone entered last season with a .255 career batting average and career highs of 24 home runs and 95 RBI. He proceeded to hit .331 with more home runs (37) and more RBI (141) than any second baseman in American League history. "Those were numbers I thought I would never see," Boone said.

The obvious question is whether Boone can repeat that level of success or whether it simply was the sort of career year players sometimes have once and never come close to again. Boone, naturally, likes his chances. He points out that while he had a monster year in 2001, he wasn't exactly Joey Cora before that. He had averaged 21 homers the previous three seasons including 1998 when he also drove in 95 runs for Cincinnati. "Like 95 RBI isn't good for a second baseman?" he said. "How many have done that?

"All I know is I think I can continue to produce at that top level. I'm not saying I can knock in 141 runs every year. That hinges on your teammates, too. My teammates were a big part of the numbers I had. I had a lot of opportunities and fortunately I took advantage of them."

There were a couple other reasons behind last season's success. One, Boone was healthy all year. Two, he bulked up considerably the previous winter, or as much as his 5-foot-10 frame could. And three, he had a new, consistent approach at the plate.

Boone didn't constantly tinker with his swing after a bad day, but he did make an important adjustment. Whenever he had two strikes on him, he opened his stance, shortened his stroke, hunkered down and protected the plate. The approach not only made him a better hitter with two strikes, but with less than two strikes as well.

Second Basemen On The Spot

ESPN analysts tell us who's on the hot seat: Dave Campbell Ricky Gutierrez, Indians. Cleveland fans will unfairly compare Gutierrez to Robby Alomar but Alomar's shoes are too big for anyone to fill -- even for a solid defensive player like Gutierrez. Tom Candiotti Bret Boone, Mariners. Can Boone possibly back up his numbers from last year? Not likely, but a lot depends on Ichiro getting him the opportunities. Rob Dibble Jeff Kent, Giants. Let's hope Kent plays baseball better than he washes trucks. San Francisco needs him to get back to his 2000 MVP form.

"That was a huge part of my game, because it gave me confidence," he said. "I didn't worry about going deep in the count, I didn't worry about getting two strikes because I knew I still had a chance. When I went into my two-strike stance, I knew I still had a good chance. ... It's a big plus having that confidence."

Other teams were not quite so confident Boone could approach that type of production again. When he went on the free-agent market this past offseason, he found so little interest outside of Seattle that he accepted the Mariners' arbitration offer, then signed a three-year, $25 million contract.

"There wasn't interest for anybody, really," said Boone, who turns 33 in April. "I was about a month into free agency and Barry Bonds, who had just broken the all-time home run record, had one offer. It was maybe the best year ever offensively, and he had one offer. It just tells you it was a weird market."

Whether it was merely weird or suspicious, Boone wound up with what he wanted: an enormous contract in Seattle, where he began his career. This marks the first time he's played two consecutive seasons in one place since 1998, and he's eager to show last year wasn't a fluke (as well as eager to receive mail without a yellow change of address sticker).

"If I'm consistent with my approach, the numbers will be there," Boone said. "I don't know what the numbers will be, they'll differ from year to year, but I'm very confident that I reached a turning point in my life and career where I can put up those top-level numbers. Year after year. Talk is cheap, so we'll see. But I'm very confident."

No surprise there.

Jim Caple is a senior writer for ESPN.com.