Wade Boggs finished his Hall of Fame career with a .328 lifetime batting average and a .415 on-base percentage. The 12-time All-Star, 5-time batting champ, and six time OBP champ finished with 3010 lifetime hits and almost twice as many walks (1412) than strikeouts (745).
"He may have the best hand-eye coordination of anyone I’ve ever seen. " Ted Williams
2005 National Baseball Hall of Fame Postcard. |
From SABR: The last line on Boggs’s Hall of Fame plaque is “Legendary for his superstitions,” and he was. Numerous stories tell of his different superstitions, whether it was wearing the same socks for every game, or fielding exactly 150 groundballs in practice each day. Every time he batted, he drew the Jewish word “chai,” meaning good luck and life, in the dirt, to wish himself luck. Perhaps the best-known superstition Boggs had was eating chicken before each game every day, and he became known as “Chicken Man” because of it. Boggs even authored a book titled Fowl Tips, which presented various chicken recipes. He readily acknowledged his superstitions, saying in his Hall of Fame induction speech, “Believe me, I have a few superstitions, and they work.”
1984 Donruss Large Card, Card #22. |
1984 Donruss Champion Large Card #16. |
1988 Topps Oversize, Card #32. |
1989 Topps Coin #32. |
Top: 1995 Upper Deck Collector's Choice Special Edition, Card #245; and 1995 Score, Card #349. Middle: 1996 Topps, Card #323; 1996 Topps Star Power, Card #225; and 1997 Topps, Card #8. |
2004 Upper Deck Yankee Classics, Card #67 (left) and 2005 Donruss Zenith, Card #247. |
2007 Upper Deck SP Legendary Cuts, Card #9. |
2009 Topps Legends of the Game Updates, Card #LGU16. |
This guy was clearly an elite hitter... not for power, but definitely for getting on base. For his era, he's right up there with Rod Carew and Tony Gwynn.
My favorite card from this collection: I love both the 1984 Donruss flagship card and the 1984 Donruss large card. The '84 Donruss products are some of my all-time favorites - I just think the photos, layout, and quality are really great!
What's your favorite card?
Stay safe,
CinciCuse Bill
I have always thought the 1991 Topps Wade Boggs card was cool.....
ReplyDeleteI like his 1983 Topps rookie card... but the 1991 Topps card is pretty cool too.
ReplyDeletethe 92 panini sticker
ReplyDeleteNice - all great choices!
ReplyDeleteI'm going to have to go and get that '91 Topps card.
DeleteI saw am play quite a bit as a kid, but just never connected with him, or his game. It too bad I wasn't able to appreciate him more at that time, as he did have a really great, and dare I say, underrated, career.
ReplyDelete