Wade Boggs

High school

Plant City High School

Pro team(s)

Boston Red Sox, New York Yankees, Tampa Bay Devil Rays

Hall of Fame

⭐ National Baseball Hall of Fame

Wade Anthony Boggs was born on June 15, 1958, in Omaha, Nebraska, but grew up in Plant City, Florida — the self-proclaimed "Winter Strawberry Capital of the World" — and attended Plant City High School. He was drafted by the Boston Red Sox in the 7th round in 1976 and spent six years working his way through the minor leagues before reaching the majors at age 24. What he did over the next 18 seasons established him as the greatest pure contact hitter of his generation. He won five American League batting titles, posted a .328 career batting average, and reached base at an extraordinary clip — leading the AL in on-base percentage six times and finishing with a career OBP of .415. He was a 12-time All-Star and won a Gold Glove at third base, combining offense and defense in a way that made him one of the most complete players of the 1980s. His career with Boston — during which he was among the most recognizable athletes in America — was followed by a stint with the New York Yankees, where he won his only World Series ring in 1996. He celebrated that championship by riding a police horse around Yankee Stadium in one of baseball's most joyful moments. He was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 2005. Grew up in Plant City, Florida.