Boggs emotional as No. 26 retired at Fenway

BOSTON — During his Hall of Fame career, Wade Boggs belted 1,173 of his 3,010 hits at Fenway Park. But when the red covering was removed from the right-field façade on Thursday evening and No. 26 became visible with the other retired numbers, Boggs felt like he witnessed the final hit of his baseball life.

The five-time batting champion — also known as the Chicken Man — joined Ted Williams, Joe Cronin, Bobby Doerr, Carl Yastrzemski, Carlton Fisk, Johnny Pesky, Jim Rice and Pedro Martinez as the only Red Sox players to have their numbers retired at Fenway.

“I think I said it best out there that this was the last piece of my baseball puzzle,” said Boggs. “My journey has ended and I’ve come back home. This is where I started my career. And, today is the end. To have my number up there with all the greats to ever put on a Red Sox uniform, including Ted, he’s my idol growing up. I wore 9 in honor of Ted in Little League.”

Though it had been five months since the Red Sox informed Boggs they would retire his number, he was still swept away with emotion once the moment actually happened.

He was overcome by thoughts of his late parents — Win and Sue — and of Williams, who died in 2002.

“My father was very instrumental. He was basically my hitting coach. He was alive in 2005 when I went in the Hall of Fame,” said Boggs. “My mother was killed in ’86. They were smiling down at me today. They were sitting at the table with Ted, smiling …

continue reading in source mlb.mlb.com