Wade Boggs (2005)


Date of Birth: 6/15/1958
Birthplace: Omaha, Nebraska

Wade Boggs played both baseball and football in high school. He was drafted by the Boston Red Sox at the end of his senior year in June, 1976. He was a seventh round pick for the Red Sox. He played in their minor league system from 1976 through 1981.

Boston Red Sox

Boggs began his major league baseball career with the Red Sox in 1982. From 1982 until 1991, Boggs never had a batting average under .302. In 1982, he batted .349 with 118 hits, 14 doubles, and 44 RBIs in 104 games.

Boggs won his first of five batting titles in 1983, with a batting average of .361. He won his first of eight Silver Slugger awards that year. He finished the season with 210 hits, 44 doubles, 74 RBIs, and an AL leading on-base percentage of .444 in 153 games. He walked 92 times while striking out only 36 times. The following season, he batted .325 in 158 games. He finished the 1984 season with 203 hits, 312 doubles, 55 RBIs, and 44 strikeouts to 89 walks.

In 1985, Boggs led the AL in hits, batting average, and on-base percentage. He had career highs in games played (161), hits (240), and batting average (.368). He also had 42 doubles, 78 RBIs, and an on-base percentage of .450 in 161 games.

Boggs won his second Silver Slugger award in 1986, and he led the AL in batting average (.357), walks (105 to 44 strikeouts), and on-base percentage (.453). He had 207 hits, 47 doubles, and 71 RBIs in 149 games.

Boggs again led the AL in batting average (.363) and on-base percentage (.461) in 1987. He also led the league in OPS with a career high of 1.049. He also had 200 hits, 40 doubles, and career highs in home runs with 24 and in RBIs with 89 in 147 games. He walked 105 times while striking out just 48 times. He won his third Silver Slugger award in 1987.

Boggs won Silver Slugger number four in 1988. That year, he led the AL in batting average, doubles, walks, on-base percentage, and OPS. He finished the season with 214 hits, 45 doubles, 58 RBIs, and a .366 batting average. His on-base percentage was .476 and his OPS was .966. He walked a career high 125 times and struck out only 34 times. He also played well defensively, leading all AL third basemen in putouts with 122.

In 1989, Boggs led the AL in doubles with a career high of 51 and in on-base percentage with .430. He had 205 hits, 54 RBIs, 51 strikeouts to 107 walks, and a .330 batting average in 156 games. He won his fifth Silver Slugger award that year. He also played well defensively, again leading AL third basemen in putouts with 123.

Boggs had an average season for him in 1990, batting .302 in 155 games. He had 187 hits, 44 doubles, and 63 RBIs. The following season was a better one. In 1991, he won his sixth Silver Slugger award, batting .332 in 144 games. He had 181 hits, 42 doubles, 51 RBIs, and 32 strikeouts to 89 walks.

Boggs struggled offensively in 1992, batting just .259 in 143 games. He had 133 hits, 22 doubles, and 50 RBIs. He walked 74 times and struck out 31 times.

New York Yankees

Boggs became a free agent on October 26, 1992. Less than two months later, on December 15th, he signed with the New York Yankees. He had a good first season in New York, batting .302 and winning his seventh Silver Slugger award. He finished the 1993 season with 169 hits, 26 doubles, and 59 RBIs in 143 games. He played well defensively, leading AL third basemen in assists with 311.

In the strike shortened 1994 season, Boggs batted .342 in 97 games. He had 125 hits, 19 doubles, and 55 RBIs. That year, he won his eighth and final Silver Slugger award and his first of two consecutive Gold Gloves.

Boggs continued to play well for the Yankees in 1995 and 1996. He batted .324 in 126 games in 1995, and .311 in 132 games the following season. He had 149 hits, 22 doubles, and 63 RBIs in 1995. He finished the 1996 season with 156 hits, 29 doubles, and 41 RBIs. He won his second Gold Glove in 1995.

Boggs played in just 104 games in 1997. He batted .292 with 103 hits and 23 doubles.

Tampa Bay Rays

Boggs became a free agent again on November 1, 1997. A month later, on December 9th, he signed with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. He batted .280 in 123 games in 1998, and he had 122 hits, 23 doubles, and 52 RBIs.

In 1999, his final season in the major leagues, Boggs played in just 90 games. He batted .301 with 88 hits.

Awards and MLB Records

  • Gold Glove (2 times)
  • Silver Slugger award (8 times)
  • Led AL in batting average (5 times)
  • Led AL in doubles (2 times)
  • Led AL in walks (2 times)
  • Led AL in on-base percentage (6 times)
  • Led AL in OPS (2 times)

Career Statistics

Statistics for Boggs in 18 seasons (1982-1999) in the major leagues include:

  • 11 seasons with over 150 hits, with a high of 240 in 1985
  • 9 seasons with over 30 doubles, with a high of 51 in 1989
  • 15 seasons with a batting average over .300, with a high of .368 in 1985

Career batting statistics for Boggs include:

  • 2,440 games played
  • 3,010 hits
  • 578 doubles
  • 118 home runs
  • 1,014 RBIs
  • 745 strikeouts to 1,412 walks
  • .328 batting average
  • .415 on-base percentage
  • .858 OPS

Career fielding statistics for Boggs as a third baseman include:

  • 2,215 games played
  • 4,246 assists
  • 423 double plays
  • 1,550 putouts
  • 229 errors
  • .962 fielding percentage

Postseason statistics for Boggs include:

  • 6 postseasons
  • 39 games played
  • 154 at-bats
  • 42 hits
  • 9 doubles
  • 1 triple
  • 2 home runs
  • 16 RBIs
  • 20 strikeouts to 16 walks
  • .273 batting average

Post Playing Career

Boggs was a color commentator for NESN in August, 2017.

Boggs was elected to the Hall of Fame in 2005 on the first ballot with 91.9% of the vote.

Sources for Information
Wikipedia - Wade Boggs
ESPN - Wade Boggs
Baseball Reference - Wade Boggs

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