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Numbers game

Here are five little-known Boggs stats as compiled by Chuck Waseleski, a 50-year-old executive with an engineering consulting firm in Millers Falls, Mass.:

* In 1985, Boggs hit .390 after the count went 0-and-2.

* During the 1985-86 seasons, he popped out to an infielder a total of seven times.

* In his first 1,000 at-bats, he had 352 hits. At the time, only three others had more: Joe Jackson (389), Chuck Klein (360) and Paul Waner (358).

* In 1986, he faced 3,059 pitches, swung 990 times and missed only 46 times.

* He has had two of the top nine seasons in history of hits plus walks: 339 in 1988 (214 hits plus 125 walks); and 336 in 1985 (240 plus 96). Babe Ruth leads with 375 (205 plus 170) in 1923.

Boggs took great pride in winning the 1981 International League batting crown with a .335 average, but it turns out he had some help. "Wade needed to go 1-for-1 to clinch the batting title," said Nationals coach Dave Huppert, who caught for Triple-A Rochester then. "He came up in the first and says to me, "How about I bunt it up the third-base line for a hit and then you guys pick me off first and I'm out of here?' I said, "Go for it.' The third baseman was back, he bunted it up the third-base line for a hit. Then we picked him off first and they took him out of the game."