Wade Boggs to have number retired, but should he?

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Wade Boggs played a grand total of 11 seasons in Boston, amassing a .338/.428/.462 slash line and 200 hits every season from 1984-89. He was a part of the 1986 team that was a Bill Buckner freak play away from breaking "The Curse of the Bambino" 18 years early. No doubt he was one of the great players in Red Sox history, but was he good enough to have his number retired? I would have to say yes.

Now, I'm too young to have seen him play with the Red Sox - I was born in 1990, and Boggs left for the Evil Empire (and ultimately won a World Series there in 1996- ouch!) in 1992. The first time I saw him play, in the late 90's, was with the Tampa Bay Rays. But, when your name gets thrown around with Ted Williams, that's worth something. Boggs is right behind Ted Williams in batting titles with the Red Sox (5), and average at Fenway Park (.338). Pretty impressive in my books.

Ultimately, Wade Boggs never brought a World Series championship to Boston, and that affects some of the perception surrounding Boggs. If he had been on the team that had broken "The Curse," I don't think there would be any doubts about him getting his number retired. But there will always be doubts about this, especially since he left for the Yankees, then proceeded to win a title there. That couldn't have been a pleasant feeling for Red Sox fans. For me, though, he was a model of consistency while he was with the Red Sox and that's why he should have his number retired.

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