The 1980s were a special time in baseball history. 
Pete Rose, nearing the end of his career, broke Ty Cobb’s record for most hits in 1985. Just a few years prior, in 1982, two other players started careers that would see them reach the 3000-hit milestone: Tony Gwynn and Wade Boggs.
Like Rose, Boggs faced off-field problems during his career (though of a different nature than Rose). However, his play was apparently never affected by those difficulties. Only three times in 18 seasons did Boggs bat lower than .300, contrasted with five seasons over .350 between 1983 and 1988. His career batting average was .328, good for 36th on the all-time list. His 3000th hit was a home run, coming in his final season with the Rays. Read the rest of this entry ?
