 Wade Boggs
Wade Anthony Boggs (born June 15, 1958 in Omaha, Nebraska) is a former third baseman in Major League Baseball, primarily with the Boston Red Sox, whose hitting in the 1980s and 1990s dominated the American League in much the same way as his National League contemporary Tony Gwynn. Boggs was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2005. With 12 straight All-Star appearances, Boggs is second only to Brooks Robinson in number of consecutive appearances as a third baseman.
A left-handed hitter, Boggs won five batting titles starting in 1983. He also batted .349 in his rookie year which would have won the batting title, but was 121 plate appearances short of the required minimum of 502. From 1982 to 1988, Boggs hit below .349 only once, hitting .325 in 1984. From 1983 to 1989, Boggs rattled off seven consecutive seasons in which he collected 200 or more hits, an American League record for consecutive 200-hit seasons. Boggs also had six seasons with 200 or more hits, 100+ runs and 40+ doubles. Although he would not win another batting title after 1988 (his batting title that year broke Bill Madlock's Major League record of four by a third baseman), he regularly appeared among the league leaders in hitting.
In 1992, Boggs slumped to .259 – one of only three times in his career that he failed to reach .300 – and at the end of the season he left the Red Sox, with whom he had spent his entire career. He was heavily pursued by two teams: the Los Angeles Dodgers and the New York Yankees - he chose the Yankees when they added the third year to the contract that the Dodgers would not offer. Boggs rewarded the Yankees' faith with three straight all-star appearances, four straight .300-plus seasons and even collected two Gold Glove Awards for his defense.
In 1996, Boggs helped the Yankees to their first World Series title in 18 years. It was the first (and only) World Series title earned by Boggs. He memorably celebrated by jumping on the back of a NYPD horse, touring the field with his index finger in the air - despite his self-professed fear of horses.
Boggs signed with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays for the final two seasons of his career, in 1999 collecting his 3,000th hit. Ironically, given his deserved reputation as a singles hitter with limited power, he was the first (and as of 2005 only) member of the 3,000-hit club whose 3,000th hit was a home run. Boggs received some criticism for skipping road games to ensure he would get No. 3000 in Tampa Bay and after hitting the home run he knelt down and kissed home plate to celebrate. Boggs retired in 1999 after sustaining a knee injury, leaving with a career batting average of .328 and 3,010 hits.
In 1987, Boggs – who was up for a new contract following the season – hit 24 home runs, easily the most in any year of his career.
His #12 has been retired by the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. Although he has not had his number retired by the Boston Red Sox, he was inducted into the team's Hall of Fame in 2004.
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