Wade Boggs
Wade Boggs | |
---|---|
Third baseman | |
Born: Omaha, Nebraska, U.S. | June 15, 1958|
Batted: Left Threw: Right | |
MLB debut | |
April 10, 1982, for the Boston Red Sox | |
Last MLB appearance | |
August 27, 1999, for the Tampa Bay Devil Rays | |
MLB statistics | |
Batting average | .328 |
Hits | 3,010 |
Home runs | 118 |
Runs batted in | 1,014 |
Teams | |
Career highlights and awards | |
| |
Member of the National | |
Baseball Hall of Fame | |
Induction | 2005 |
Vote | 91.9% (first ballot) |
Wade Anthony Boggs (born June 15, 1958) is an American former professional
Boggs became the 23rd player to reach 3,000 career
With 12 straight
neighborhood of Tampa.Early life
Born in Omaha, Nebraska,
Minor league career
Boggs played in the longest game in professional baseball history as a member of the Pawtucket Red Sox in 1981 against Cal Ripken Jr. and the Rochester Red Wings. It lasted for 33 innings over eight hours and 25 minutes. The game took place from April 18–19, 1981, at McCoy Stadium in Pawtucket, Rhode Island.[6] During his last year in the minor leagues with Pawtucket, he led the league with a .335 batting-average, 167 hits, and 41 doubles.[7]
Major league career
Boston Red Sox
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 he 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 that was surpassed by Seattle's Ichiro Suzuki. 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 1985, Boggs had 72 multi-hit games, a club record.[citation needed]
In 1986, Boggs made it to the World Series with the Red Sox, but they lost to the New York Mets in seven games. He holds the record for batting average at Fenway Park, at .369.
Boggs had a power surge in 1987, setting career highs with 24 home runs, 89 RBIs, and a .588 slugging percentage. He never hit half as many home runs in any other season.
New York Yankees
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 to that point. He was heavily pursued by two teams: the
In 1996, Boggs helped the Yankees win their first World Series title in 18 years against the
Tampa Bay Devil Rays
Boggs signed with the
Baseball legacy
Boggs' career paralleled that of Tony Gwynn, who also debuted (in the National League) in 1982. Boggs and Gwynn were the premier contact hitters of their era. They both won multiple batting titles—Boggs, five and Gwynn, eight—and each won four straight batting titles to join Ty Cobb, Rogers Hornsby, and Rod Carew as the only players to do so. Gwynn and Boggs each hit over .350 in four straight seasons, the only players to do so since 1931. They joined Lou Brock and Rod Carew as the only players whose careers ended after World War II who finished with 3,000 hits and fewer than 160 home runs.[15][16]
Boggs was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2005 and is depicted with a Red Sox cap.
Tommy John noted that Boggs always seemed to know what the next pitch was going to be. "...for pure hitting, Boggs is the best I've ever seen," John wrote in 1991. "He's a phenomenon, a pure hitting machine. I've never seen anything like him. He lit me up."[17]
Boggs recorded 2.1 innings of pitching at the Major League level. His main pitch was a
Boggs also pitched 1.1 innings for Tampa Bay against the Orioles in a 1999 game, allowing one run.On December 21, 2015, the Red Sox announced that they would retire Boggs' number (26).[20] The ceremony was held on May 26, 2016.[21] Boggs occasionally appears in the Yankees' annual Old-Timers' Day, a celebration of past Yankees in which the players play a multi-inning game of baseball at Yankee Stadium.[22]
His own style included mental preparedness techniques, which consisted of visualizing four at-bats each evening before a game and imagining himself successfully getting four hits.
As of June 8, 1986—over the course of the previous 162 games (equivalent to a full season, though across two seasons)—Boggs was hitting .400, with 254 hits in 635 at-bats.[23]
In his 18-year major league career, Boggs recorded 3 five-hit games and 59 four-hit games. On June 29, 1987, he had a career-high seven RBI against the Orioles in a 14–3 victory at Fenway.[24]
The
The Boston Red Sox inducted Boggs into the team's Hall of Fame in 2004[26] and his number 26 was retired during a pre-game ceremony on May 26, 2016.[27]
Boggs was known for his
Life outside baseball
The Margo Adams affair and palimony lawsuit
Boggs garnered non-baseball-related media attention in 1989 for his four-year extramarital affair with Margo Adams, a California
Hall of Fame plaque cap logo controversy
Before his retirement, Boggs was plagued by newspaper reports that the expansion Devil Rays gave him financial compensation in return for selecting a Devil Rays cap for his plaque at the Baseball Hall of Fame, though he has denied that any such condition was part of his contract.[37] In light of those reports (and other rumors that teams were offering number retirement, money, or organizational jobs in exchange for the cap designation) the Hall decided in 2001 to change its practice of deferring to players' wishes regarding cap logo selection and reinforced the Hall's authority to determine with which cap the player would be depicted. Boggs is wearing a Boston cap on his plaque.
Family
Boggs' mother died in June 1986 in a car accident in Tampa while he was with the Red Sox.
Wade Boggs was named one of the "Top 10 Most Superstitious Athletes" by Men's Fitness for his well known superstitions about baseball, including his habit of eating chicken before every game and practicing at only specific times of day.[40] His chicken eating habits earned him the nickname "Chicken Man".[41]
Wrestling
As a baseball player, Boggs made an appearance for the
Television
Boggs was one of the baseball players featured in
Boggs is the subject of an apocryphal story in which, on a cross-country flight during his career, he drank a very large number of beers, sometimes given as exactly 64 (a number Boggs has denied).
In August 2017, Boggs served as a fill-in
In 2018, Wade Boggs was mentioned in a Good Mythical Morning episode by hosts Rhett and Link, involving his Wade Boggs .352 Bar that was made in 1990.[50] He later made a cameo appearance on the show in 2021.[51]
Bibliography
- Fowl Tips: My Favorite Chicken Recipes (1984). Wakefield, Rhode Island: Narragansett Graphics.OCLC 23719240.
- Boggs! (1986). Contemporary Books, ISBN 0-8092-5063-2.
- The Techniques of Modern Hitting (1990). Perigee Books. ISBN 0-399-51595-X(with David Brisson).
See also
- DHL Hometown Heroes
- List of Major League Baseball annual doubles leaders
- List of Major League Baseball annual runs scored leaders
- List of Major League Baseball career assists as a third baseman leaders
- List of Major League Baseball career batting average leaders
- List of Major League Baseball career doubles leaders
- List of Major League Baseball career on-base percentage leaders
- List of Major League Baseball career putouts as a third baseman leaders
- List of Major League Baseball career runs scored leaders
- List of Major League Baseball career runs batted in leaders
- List of Major League Baseball career times on base leaders
- List of Major League Baseball career total bases leaders
- List of Major League Baseball doubles records
- List of Major League Baseball hit records
- List of people from Omaha, Nebraska
- Major League Baseball titles leaders
References
- ^ "Baseball's 100 Greatest Players (by Sporting News)". Baseball Almanac. Retrieved April 22, 2015.
- St. Petersburg Times. May 30, 2010. p. 4E.
- ^ "Wade Boggs". Museum of Nebraska Major League Baseball. Retrieved June 4, 2014.
- ^ Boston Globe. Archived from the originalon August 2, 2005. Retrieved January 4, 2024.
- ^ a b O'Connor, Ian (October 16, 1996). "WADE'S WORLD BOGGS, DAD BACK AFTER SERIES OF STRUGGLES". New York Daily News. Retrieved May 22, 2015.
- ^ Berkow, Ira (June 24, 2006). "33 Innings, 882 Pitches and One Crazy Game". New York Times.
- ^ Norman MacLean, ed. (1988). 1988 Who's Who in Baseball. New York: Who's Who in Baseball Magazine Company, Inc.
- ^ Jaffe, Jay (August 12, 2016). "The 1996 Yankees and the epic comeback that started baseball's last dynasty". Sports Illustrated. Archived from the original on May 22, 2021.
- ^ "1996 World Series Game 4, Yankees at Braves, October 23". Baseball-Reference.com. Archived from the original on January 26, 2021.
- ^ Kaduk, Kevin (July 15, 2012). "Wade Boggs on Boston's refusal to retire his number: 'It's disappointing'". Yahoo! Sports. Retrieved January 4, 2024.
- ^ Curry, Jack (October 27, 1996). "Boggs Takes a Ride". The New York Times.
- ^ "Wade Boggs". baseballbiography.com. Retrieved July 25, 2008.
- ^ "Tampa Bay Devil Rays vs Cleveland Indians Box Score: August 27, 1999". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved June 25, 2023.
- ^ "Tampa Bay Rays History: Wade Boggs Number 12 is Retired". Rays Colored Glasses. April 7, 2017. Retrieved May 6, 2019.
- ^ Verducci, Tom (August 9, 1999). "Single Minded". Sports Illustrated. Archived from the original on January 2, 2013.
- ^ Chass, Murray (June 29, 2001). "ON BASEBALL; Hits to Stop Coming Once Gwynn Is Gone". The New York Times. Archived from the original on February 26, 2014.
- ISBN 0-553-07184-X.
- ^ Curry, Jack (August 21, 1997). "Boggs and His Knuckler Are the Stars of the Show". The New York Times. Retrieved May 24, 2010.
- ^ "NYY@ANA: Boggs throws scoreless inning in debut". Retrieved June 25, 2023 – via www.youtube.com.
- ^ "Red Sox to retire Wade Boggs' number 26". Retrieved June 25, 2023.
- ^ Mcwilliam, Bryan (January 23, 2016). "Boggs felt like Tom Hanks in 'Cast Away' at Red Sox reunion". theScore.com. Retrieved June 25, 2023.
- ^ "Wade Boggs Reveals How He Was Able to Drink 107 Beers in a Day". June 24, 2015.
- ^ Boston Globe, June 9, 1986. p. 37.
- ^ "Wade Boggs top performances at retrosheet.org". retrosheet.org. Retrieved September 30, 2022.
- ^ "Retired Uniform Numbers in the American League". Baseball Almanac.com. Retrieved July 25, 2008.
- ^ "Red Sox Hall of Fame". RedSox.com. Retrieved July 25, 2008.
- ^ Red Sox [@RedSox] (December 21, 2015). "Wade Boggs' #RedSox uniform number 26 will be retired this May!" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- ^ Sullivan, George (2000). Don't Step on the Foul Line: Sports Superstition. Millbrook Press. p. 29.
boggs.
- ^ The Rundown. "Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me". NPR. Retrieved July 25, 2008. NPR. August 6, 2005
- ^ Callahan, Gerry (May 21, 1993). "Cheers Wade's World back in town". Boston Herald. Retrieved April 29, 2012.[permanent dead link]
- OCLC 455439452
- ^ Margolick, David (March 3, 1989). "THE LAW; At the Bar". The New York Times. Retrieved July 25, 2008.
- ^ Chass, Murray (February 23, 1989). "BASEBALL; Gossip Checks In At Red Sox Camp". The New York Times. Retrieved July 25, 2008.
- ^ "SPORTS PEOPLE: BASEBALL; Boggs Speaks Out". The New York Times. March 25, 1989. Retrieved July 25, 2008.
- ^ "Big Hit for Boggs in Court". The New York Times. February 27, 1989. Retrieved July 25, 2008.
- ^ "SPORTS PEOPLE: BASEBALL; Boggs Settlement". The New York Times. December 13, 1989. Retrieved July 25, 2008.
- ^ Muder, Craig (January 6, 2005). "Boggs, Sandberg field queries as new Hall of Famers". USA Today. Archived from the original on May 24, 2006. Retrieved January 4, 2024.
- ^ "Old Florida Heritage Highway CMC Meeting" (PDF). March 4, 2009. Retrieved February 27, 2010.
- St. Petersburg Times. Archived from the originalon July 30, 2005. Retrieved January 4, 2024.
- ^ Murphy, Ryan (April 23, 2018). "10 Most Superstitious Athletes". Men's Journal. Retrieved June 25, 2023.
- ^ "Boggs became 'Chicken Man' for a cookbook". MLB.com. Retrieved January 20, 2022.
- ^ The Life & Times of Mr. Perfect (2008)
- ^ "Dudley Boyz vs. Rock 'n' Sock Connection | December 13, 1999 Raw". Retrieved June 25, 2023 – via YouTube.
- ^ Levine, Ken (April 30, 2009). "Wade Boggs and Baaaaa-d behavior". By Ken Levine. Retrieved March 25, 2017.
- ^ Confirmed by Jay S.
- ^ a b "Wade Boggs Told Charlie Day He Drank 107 Beers in a Day. We Believe Him". January 13, 2015.
- ^ Perkins, Dennis (January 15, 2015). "It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia: 'The Gang Beats Boggs'". The A.V. Club.
- ^ "Wade Boggs told Charlie Day he once drank 107 beers in a day". Sports Illustrated. January 13, 2015.
- ^ Reimer, Alex (August 10, 2017). "Ranking the NESN broadcast fill-ins: Wade Boggs has been the best of the motley crew". WEEI. Retrieved August 11, 2017.
- ^ "Discontinued Chocolate Taste Test". Archived from the original on December 12, 2021. Retrieved August 24, 2021 – via YouTube.
Season 15 Episode 28
- ^ "We Got Scammed On eBay (Discontinued Snacks)". Archived from the original on December 12, 2021. Retrieved October 21, 2021 – via YouTube.
- ^ Clair, Michael (August 23, 2021). "Boggs became 'Chicken Man' for a cookbook". MLB.com. Retrieved August 24, 2021.
External links
- Wade Boggs at the Baseball Hall of Fame
- Career statistics and player information from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball Reference, or Fangraphs, or Baseball Reference (Minors), or Retrosheet
- Wade Boggs at the SABR Baseball Biography Project