BOSTON — Wade Boggs just got the cherry on top of his baseball career.
The Red Sox retired the former third baseman’s No. 26 in a ceremony before Thursday night’s game against the Colorado Rockies. And Boggs, who was visibly emotional when the Red Sox unveiled his number on Fenway Park’s right field deck, said it was just what he needed.
“I was very emotional because, like I said, it’s the last piece of the puzzle,” Boggs said after the ceremony. “I’m done. It’s the last thing that I needed. And now my whole career has an exclamation point on it. I’m extremely honored, extremely proud to have played here in Boston.”
The move was a long time coming for Boggs, who elicits mixed feelings among fans who still are angry that he left for the New York Yankees after the 1992 season. But Boggs said that’s not necessarily what he wanted to happen.
“Unfortunately that Mrs. (Jean) Yawkey died in January of ’92, otherwise I would have played my whole career here,” Boggs said. “The seven-year deal was taken off the table, and I would’ve finished my career here in Boston because that was her wish. She wanted me to follow in the same footsteps as Ted (Williams) and Carl (Yastrzemski) and end my career here. But once she passed away in January, it just didn’t happen.”
Boggs’ number was worn by other players, including Lou Merloni and Brock Holt until this season, after he left the Red Sox, but he didn’t take any offense to that.
“It’s not a right to have your number retired,” Boggs said. “It’s a privilege. … I think all players that have a tremendous career would like to have their uniform retired. But it didn’t bother me that much to have it given away.”
People always speculated whether the Red Sox would retire Boggs’ number. He was an eight-time All-Star in Boston — he earned four more nods in New York — and had a .338 average over 11 seasons with the Red Sox. Not to mention, he became a first-ballot Hall of Famer in 2005.
But Boggs didn’t mind the wait to be honored.
“The one thing that I don’t think a lot of people understand is I was here in ’84 when they retired Ted’s number, and he had been out of the game for 24 years,” Boggs said. “So my last game (in Boston) was ’92, so if you do the math, that’s 24 years. So if it takes 24 years to get Ted’s number retired, I feel honored it took 24.”
Thumbnail photo via David Butler II/USA TODAY Sports Images
