Every player longs for that dream season. The one where they stay healthy and just produce. I’m going to crunch the numbers and create dream seasons for notable 1980s stars. This time I’ll take a look at Wade Boggs.
March/April 1983
Boggs hit a cool .349 as a rookie in 1982 and didn’t miss a beat heading into his second season. In 19 games, Wade recorded two or more hits ten times, including four different three-hit games. He also drew twelve walks to finish the month with a .378 batting average and a .471 on-base percentage. He finished the season with a .361 batting average.
May 1986
Nineteen-Eighty-Six was Wade Boggs’ fifth season in the big leagues. It was also the year he won his 3rd batting title. When you hit .357 you’re going to have some big months and May of 1986 certainly was for Boggs.
In 27 games, Boggs hit .471 with three homers and 20 RBI. He also drew 24 walks for an on-base percentage of .567. Included in the month was a 5-6 performance against the Minnesota Twins on May 20th, the first five-hit game of his career. But like any pure hitter, Wade was looking for more.
“I was thinking about six,” Boggs told the Boston Globe. “But I’d never gone 5 for 5, so I didn’t really think much about going 6 for 6. The last time I did 5 for 5 was in high school.”
June 1987
By 1987, Boggs had fully established himself as one of the game’s top hitters. He’d won three straight batting titles and four overall. He was on his way to a 5th. In June of that month, Wade hit a cool .485 with an on-base percentage of .581. Boggs played in 26 games in June of 1987 and had at least one hit in 25 of them, including 15 games of two or more hits.
“I just swing, make contact and hope it falls in,” he said. It’s just that easy.
July 1983
Boggs began July of 1983 in a horrible slump. He went 0-4 against the Yankees on July 1st. After that, it was pretty much business as usual. He went 11-17 in a four-game series against the Oakland A’s and finished the month hitting .404.
August 1985
Another month, another 49 hits for Wade Boggs. Such was the case in August of 1985. Boggs went 49-123 in the month, good for a somewhat mortal .398 batting average.
In a one-week span, from August 8th through the 14th, Wade hit .485 against the White Sox, Yankees and Royals.
“A lot of luck,” Boggs said. “If the luck keeps up, I’m probably going to hit for a high average. Once I see a pitcher, I know exactly what he throws. And that’s not going to change. Whatever he throws, you know you’re going to see it again.”
It’a good to be lucky.
September/October 1988
A strong season requires a strong finish and Wade didn’t disappoint as he hit .423 to wrap up the 1988 season, one in which he led either the American League or the Major Leagues in plate appearances, doubles, runs scored, walks, intentional walks, batting average, on-base percentage and OPS. It’s all part of the challenge of playing the game.
“Once you get out there, it’s one on one,” he told the Boston Globe. “There’s no guy to set a pick for you. No guy to throw a block for you. No guy to shoot the puck over to you. When you get a hit, you’ve won. And the team wins, because you’ve contributed to a winning effort.
“It’s the same way with a pitcher. Why is he trying to get everybody out? To improve his record. But if he does, the team benefits.”
The Totals:
Teams benefitted from having Wade Boggs at 3rd base and his dream season comes to an end with some impressive numbers. Added up, it comes to 257 hits in 601 at-bats, good for a .428 batting average with 114 walks thrown in, giving him a tidy .516 on-base percentage.
