Ask baseball fans what they remember about Hall of Fame third baseman Wade Boggs, and most will point to his stints with the Red Sox and the Yankees—where he hit well north of .300 and earned his ticket to Cooperstown.
Ask Floridians what they remember about him, however, and many will recall how he made the then-Devil Rays relevant in their infancy.
It was with Tampa Bay that Boggs homered for his 3,000th career hit on Aug. 7, 1999, during the franchise's second season. He recalled a humorous anecdote from that day for Bally Sports Florida ahead of his induction into the team's Hall of Fame on Sunday.
"(Manager) Larry (Rothschild) says, 'I'm gonna pinch-hit for you,'" Boggs remembered. "I said, ‘Larry, we will go down into this tunnel right now and I will beat you with this bat.'"
“I said, ‘Larry, we will go down into this tunnel right now & I will beat you with this bat.”’ 😂
— Tricia Whitaker (@TriciaWhitaker) July 9, 2023
- Wade Boggs on what he said to Larry Rothschild when he threatened to pinch hit for him before his AB where he notched 3,000 hits.
Today, @RaysBaseball honors @ChickenMan3010 as… pic.twitter.com/yTAY5hUB5X
Rothschild apparently relented, and Boggs crushed a two-run shot off Cleveland's Chris Haney to become the first player ever to homer for his 3,000th career hit.
