Wade Boggs will add to his illustrious resume this May when his number is retired by the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park.
The MLB club made the announcement on Monday and various higher-ups in the Red Sox organization commented on Boggs as well as the upcoming ceremony in a team press release. Boggs, 57, will have his number 26 retired on May 26, 2016.
"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 press release. "To say that your number will never be worn again is the highest honor an athlete can receive. Thank you."
The Red Sox then bombarded their Twitter account with the news.
Wade Boggs' #RedSox uniform number 26 will be retired this May! pic.twitter.com/RZLf2EjTza
— Boston Red Sox (@RedSox) December 21, 2015
#26 is soon to find a place on Fenway's right field facade. pic.twitter.com/fYmOzZ8wBN
— Boston Red Sox (@RedSox) December 21, 2015
Boggs, a first ballot Hall of Famer, spent 11 seasons with the Red Sox from 1982-1992. Over that span he hit .338/.428/.462 with 1,067 runs scored, 85 home runs and 687 RBI. He won five American League batting titles, led the AL in on-base percentage six times and OPS twice. The former seventh-round pick also registered seven consecutive seasons with 200 hits, which stood as an MLB record until Ichiro Suzuki of the Seattle Mariners broke it in 2008.
His .338 batting average is also only second to Ted Williams in Red Sox franchise history. Nobody has ever played more games at third base in a Red Sox uniform than Boggs and, as a result, he'll join some special company on the right field façade of Fenway Park: Bobby Doerr (No. 1), Joe Cronin's (No. 4); Johnny Pesky (No. 6); Carl Yastrzemski (No. 8); Ted Williams (No. 9); Jim Rice (No. 14); Carlton Fisk (No. 27); Pedro Martinez (No. 45); and Jackie Robinson (No. 42).
Boggs spent the remaining seven years of his MLB career with the New York Yankees (five) and Tampa Bay Devils Rays (two). The Devil Rays retired his No. 12 back in 2000.
