Wade Boggs (born 1958) played in MLB as a third baseman from 1982 to 1999.
He played for the Boston Red Sox from 1982 to 1992, the New York Yankees from 1993 to 1997, and finished with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. Over his career, Boggs finished with a .328 batting average, 3,010 hits, 118 home runs, and 1,014 RBIs. He was a World Series champion in 1996, a twelve time All-Star from 1985 to 1996, and a five time AL batting champion.
Boggs was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2005 on 91.9% on the first ballot. He was also inducted into the Boston Red Sox Hall of Fame, and his jersey was retired by the Boston Red Sox and the Tampa Bay Rays.
Born in Omaha, Nebraska, Boggs grew up under a strict military family. His father, Winfield, served in the Marines in World War II and flew in the Air Force in the Korean War, while Boggs’ mother flew mail planes in World War II. The two met at a military base in Georgia in 1946,
and they raised their children with this influence.
Boggs was an exceptional athlete growing up. He did well in baseball, but he was an All-State quarterback in football, and he did very well as a placekicker and punter. He was offered a football scholarship to the University of South Carolina, but he left for the Boston Red Sox after they selected him in the seventh round in 1976.
The longest game in professional baseball history took place on April 18-19, 1981. Boggs faced a young Cal Ripken Jr. in a 33 inning game. Batting .335 in his last year in the minors, Boggs was called up in 1982.
Boggs was a left handed hitter, and he batted .349 as a rookie, which was only 121 plate appearances short of the minimum to qualify for the batting title. Boggs won his first batting title and the Silver Slugger Award the next year.
He would go on to be an all-time great hitter. He would win several more batting titles, Silver Slugger Awards, and his batting average was consistent. From 1983 to 1989, Boggs had seven seasons of 200 or more hits, which was not surpassed until Ichiro Suzuki.
The Boston Red Sox made the World Series in 1986 with the help of Boggs, but the team lost in Seven to the New York Yankees. Boggs played well, recorded nine hits, but it was not enough. Boggs was not known as a power hitter, but he had a good season in 1987 with 24 home runs, 89 RBIs, and .588 slugging percentage. It was his best power hitting season.
Holding the Fenway Park batting average record of .369, Boggs did not win another batting title after 1988, but he consistently competed for the title.
After slumping to a .259 batting average, Boggs left for free agency. The New York Yankees and Los Angeles Dodgers heavily sought him. The Yankees offered a three year deal, so Boggs chose them.
He continued to make All Star Games with .300 seasons, and he even won two Gold Glove Awards for the first time. He helped the Yankees win the 1996 World Series, which included a crucial 10th inning walk with the bases loaded. After the victory in Game Six, Boggs made headlines for jumping atop an NYPD horse and trampling across the field.
Boggs finished with the Tampa Devil Rays after joining in 1998. He collected his 3,00th hit by hitting a home run. He retired soon after due to a knee injury.
That is a brief description of Boggs’ professional baseball accomplishments. To describe his interests, superstitions, exploits, and many, many, many anecdotes would require a few books. Boggs was and is well known for a variety of reasons outside of baseball. Such as, how he would eat a chicken before every game, or how he ran sprints every day at 7:17pm.
He has stayed busy in retirement, appearing on television shows and sports broadcasts. Below are a few details on a few of his best cards.
Boggs played during an era over card overproduction. There are plenty of Boggs cards out there, and below are mostly rookie cards, most of which are cheap in high grade.
1983 Donruss Wade Boggs Rookie Card
There are 670 cards in this Donruss set, and each card has standard measurements (2 ½ x 3 ½”). A few keys of the set are rookie cards Ryan Sedberg,
Julio Franco, as well as Wade Boggs. Boggs sits at #586 on the set.
For reference, PSA has over 38,000 cards registered on this set, and over 6,000 are Boggs copies.
PSA Gem Mint copies sold for around $200 in the first half of 2021, but the more recent sales have been recorded at $600 and more.
1983 Fleer Wade Boggs Rookie Card
There are 660 cards in this set, and each card has standard measurements (2 ½ x 3 ½”). A few keys of the set include Ozzie Smith, Tony Gwynn, and Carl Yastrzemski. Wade Boggs sits at #179 on the set.
For reference, PSA has over 36,000 cards registered on this set, and over 6,000 are Wade Boggs copies.
PSA Gem Mint copies have sold for around $150 to $200 in the first half of 2021.
1983 Topps Wade Boggs Rookie Card
There are 792 cards in this set, and each card has standard measurements (2 ½ x 3 ½”). A couple keys of the set are Hall of Famers Ryne
Sandberg and Tony Gwynn. Boggs sits at #498 on the set.
For reference, PSA has over 100,000 cards registered on this set, and over 12,000 are Boggs copies.
PSA Gem Mint 10 copies have sold for around $2,000 or more.
1984 Topps Tiffany Wade Boggs
There are 792 cards in this set, and each card has standard measurements (2 ½ x 3 ½”). A couple keys to this set are Don Mattingly and Darryl Strawberry. Boggs sits at #30 on the set.
For reference, PSA has over 8,000 cards registered on this set, and over 100 cards are Boggs copies.
The most recent sales since 2019 for this card for a PSA Gem Mint 10 went for $57, $275, $62, and $300.
Conclusion
Of the many stories about Wade Boggs, he confirmed a few years ago that he drank somewhere between 60 and 100 beers on a road trip. He played well in the game the next day.
The legend resurfaced when a tv show covered the concept in detail in an episode, and Boggs later confirmed the legend.
With Boggs’ personal life, it is hard to tell what is real and what is legend. However, his baseball status, legendary indeed, can be found with the statistics listed on the back of a piece of cardboard.