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Wade Boggs: Hall of Fame 2005

In this club, Boggs a rookie again

By GARY SHELTON
Published July 31, 2005

COOPERSTOWN, N.Y. - Picture this. George is talking to Brooks about taking a picture with Schmitty. He is suggesting they don't let Wade in.

Brooks Robinson laughs quietly, the way he does, and George Brett laughs loudly, the way he does. When Mike Schmidt is let in on the joke, he grins along.

Here in the Third Base Club, giving Wade Boggs grief is considered high humor. Boggs is on his way to being inducted into the Hall of Fame today, but by golly, there are still some rites of initiation to be passed.

In the club within the club, admission does not come easily. No Hall of Fame is more difficult to achieve than baseball's, and no one has had a harder time than third basemen. Only 12 have been elected - 13 if you count Paul Molitor, who spent most of his time as a designated hitter - and only half of those were elected by the writers.

Of those, only four were first-ballot electees: Brooks Robinson. George Brett. Mike Schmidt. Wade Boggs.

Together, the four account for five MVP awards, eight batting titles and 29 Gold Gloves. They combined for 51 All-Star Games, 29 seasons hitting .300 or better and 11,246 hits. They totaled 1,251 home runs, 5,561 RBIs and 4,875 walks. In their four elections, there were 1,847 ballots cast, and only 1,750 voted for one name or the other.

When the Third Base Club takes its annual photo today, you can expect a new member in the group. Or can you?

"I told Brooksie that we should get him and me and Schmitty and have our picture taken right in front of him," Brett said. "We should tell him he can't get in. This one is for the real third basemen. He'll have to wait a couple of years to get in."

Brett cackles.

"Of course we're going to let him in. But we're going to razz him first."

It was that way all week. The other Hall of Famers, particularly the third basemen, have razzed Boggs from the time he arrived. He is a rookie again, and when you pledge a fraternity, a certain amount of hazing is traditional.

"Maybe we'll make him pay an initiation fee," Robinson said.

On Friday, Boggs stepped into the trolley. Not so fast, Robinson said. Rookies sit in the back of the bus. So, yes, Boggs moved to the back.

On Saturday, Boggs was signing an autograph in the manner accepted by Hall of Famers. Wade Boggs, HOF, 2005 >. Schmidt caught him.

"Hey, Brooksie," Schmidt said. "He can't sign that way. Not until he's inducted on Sunday."

On Saturday night, both Ryne Sandberg and Wade Boggs had to sing for the other Hall members. Boggs sang Friends in Low Places. A tribute to the Devil Rays, no doubt.

The Musical Wade moment was brought to the Hall by Kirby Puckett. Puckett is allowed to get in on the ribbing. Puckett played four whole games at third base.

At least Puckett hasn't applied for membership in the club. Carlton Fisk, who also played four games at third, keeps asking Robinson if he can get in the picture. No, Robinson said. Playing it in Little League doesn't count.

Oh, a lot of Hall of Famers - more than three dozen - have dabbled at playing third. Joe DiMaggio played seven games there. Mickey Mantle, Roberto Clemente, Yogi Berra and Ty Cobb played one each. None of them pleaded to stay.

As you would expect, the exclusivity of the club and the excellence of the players have left the third basemen with a shared pride. Third is where you guard the line, charge the bunt, put your chest in the way of line drives, drive in runs and lead the clubhouse.

Do it all well enough, and someday, you will be known by a singular name. Like Brett. Like Brooks. Like Schmidt. Like Boggs. Do it well enough, and someday, perhaps you will find yourself in the middle of a photograph.

Yes, they let Boggs in. On Saturday morning, before the start of the annual Hall of Famers golf tournament, the four men gathered on the first tee. Someone called Molitor over to join them in a photograph.

Even Molitor found that strange. Molitor isn't even listed as a third baseman by the Hall's definitions. Still, he played it enough (791 games) to know the difficulty.

"I can't run with those other four guys," Molitor said. "It's an amazing group. I mean, what couldn't you get out of that group? You've got your power. You've got your baserunning. You've got your defense. You've got batting titles, Gold Gloves. You've got everything."

You also have Boggs grinning so hard he risked his facial muscles. By the way, Boggs would like a few copies of the picture.

"That was priceless," Boggs said. "I want a 16x32, and I want 8x10s, and I want wallet-sized. I may make a Christmas card out of it."

So who is the best third baseman? Why, they all are.

"I tell people, it's whoever you want it to be," Robinson said.

"People in Boston, and in New York and St. Petersburg, think Boggs was better than I was," Brett said. "In Kansas City, they think I was better than him. Same with Schmidt. Same with Brooks."

"We are all aware of what we each of us could do," Schmidt said. "We know who hit for power, who hit for average, who played defense. We have great respect for each other."

When Boggs is out of the room, when the ribbing is put on hold for the time being, the members of the Third Base Club say they have great respect for him, too.

"It was mind-boggling to me the things he could do," Brett said. "He was an artist. The bat was not a bat, it was a paintbrush and he painted some masterpieces."

"When he was winning his batting titles, there wasn't anyone better in the game," Robinson said. "You couldn't get him out."

"His credentials speak for themselves," Schmidt said. "When you get 3,000 hits, you're a Hall of Famer in anyone's book."

Someday, after today's induction, perhaps the other third basemen will let Boggs know of their respect. For now, however, someone needs to carry these golf clubs back to the hotel.

Has anyone seen Wade?

[Last modified July 31, 2005, 01:32:21]