Red Sox to retire Wade Boggs' No. 26 jersey
The Boston Red Sox will retire Wade Boggs' No. 26 jersey in May, the team announced on Monday.
Boggs, 57, was elected to the Hall of Fame in 2005, which was his first year on the ballot, and received 91.9 percent of the vote. The third baseman's number is the 10th retired by the Red Sox, who have also retired Bobby Doerr's No. 1, Joe Cronin's No. 4, Johnny Pesky's No. 6, Carl Yastrzemski's No. 8, Ted Williams' No. 9, Jim Rice's No. 14, Carlton Fisk's No. 27, Pedro Martinez's No. 45, and Jackie Robinson's No. 42.
“Wade Boggs was the best third baseman in Red Sox history and one of the best hitters of his generation,” Red Sox owner John Henry said in a press release. “Whether it was his legendary hand-eye coordination or the discipline of his highly superstitious routine, his ability to hit line drive after line drive was remarkable. We congratulate our first ballot Hall of Famer on this recognition.”
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Boggs' .338 batting average during his 11 years in Boston is the second-best for the Red Sox in team history. He holds the franchise record for most games played at third base in franchise history. Boggs won five American League batting titles and recorded seven seasons with 200 hits or more.
In his 18 major league seasons, he collected 2,098 of his career 3,010 hits with Boston.
“I am so humbled and honored to be among the greatest legends to ever put on a uniform for the amazing city of Boston,” Boggs said in the statement. “To say that your number will never be worn again is the highest honor an athlete can receive. Thank you.”
The Red Sox previously only retired numbers for players that spent at least 10 years with the Red Sox and finished his career in Boston. Boggs went on to play for the Yankees and Devil Rays before retiring in 1999.
Since Boggs left the Red Sox, 13 players have worn No. 26. Brock Holt has worn the number for the Red Sox since 2013.
- Christopher Chavez
