Retirement of Boggs' number a welcome change by Sox

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The announcement that the Red Sox will retire No. 26 in honor of Wade Boggs next May is good news in itself.

But what it signifies may be just as important.

First, Boggs:

There can be little doubt that he's a most deserving honoree. Boggs has the most 200-hit seasons -- seven -- in Red Sox history. He posted a .338 lifetime average with the Red Sox, collected 2,098 hits and reached base at a .428 clip.

While with the Red Sox, he led the American League in on-base percentage six times, won five batting titles and twice led the league in runs scored, doubles, walks and OPS.

He won six Silver Sluggers and was named to eight All-Star teams.

Boggs was one of the best hitters of the 1980s and, in a sense, was ahead of his time. Before baseball truly valued on-base ability, Boggs was an on-base machine. In 9 of his 11 seasons with the Red Sox, he had an on-base percentage of .400 or better. Even in his last season, his worst with the Red Sox, Boggs still managed a .353 OBP.

In 1988, he accumulated a stunning .476 OBP.

Still, he endured criticisms. He didn't hit for enough power to suit some and others regarded him as selfish, forgetting that baseball is, by its very nature, a selfish game. In no other sport does a player achieve or succeed so much on his own. The batter-pitcher matchup, around which the entire game revolves, is ultimately a one-on-one confrontation. Nothing a teammate does impacts that battle. A hitter ultimately succeeds or fails on his own.

As for the missing power component, perhaps the problem was one of perspective. He played third base -- normally associated with power (see: Mike Schmidt, Eddie Mathews, Graig Nettles, Ron Santo, etc.) -- and was compared to sluggers when he should have been compared to other leadoff hitters.

Boggs reached double digits in homers only twice in his career, but he scored 100 or more runs seven times and 90 or more eight times. He also topped 40 doubles eight times.

Instead of focusing on Boggs's shortcomings (power, speed), there's plenty else to celebrate.

What took the Red Sox so long remains something of a mystery. Boggs was inducted into Cooperstown a decade ago, and unlike recent inductees, Jim Rice and Pedro Martinez, wasn't immediately given the honor of a retired number.

Maybe the Sox were put off by Boggs's ugly extra-marital affair with Margo Adams, which became an embarrassment and distraction to the franchise. Maybe they were (foolishly) enraged that Boggs left the Red Sox to sign with the rival New York Yankees, as if that alone should negate a great career.

Or perhaps the current ownership group was saddled with the silly "rules'' established by the previous regime. Under John Harrington's direction, the Red Sox drew up a list of qualifications (must have spent at least 10 years with the Red Sox; must be a member of the national Hall of Fame; and strangest of all, must have "finished'' his career with the Red Sox).

With the latter, the organization twisted itself into various positions to work around the restrictive language. Carlton Fisk didn't finish his career with the Red Sox . . . until the Red Sox hired him as a "consultant'' so as to justify retiring his number.

Since retiring after 1999, Boggs has had no role or associaiton -- formal or otherwise -- with the Red Sox, so the decision to honor him and retire No. 26 carries with it no silly strings.

Boggs is being honored for having been a great player in his time with the Red Sox -- which is as it should be.

Now, with the cord fully cut from the past restrictions, the Sox are now free to honor others: Dwight Evans, Tony Conigliaro and, yes, Roger Clemens come to mind.

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