Royally good hitter
THIRD IN A SERIES
Sunday, March 11, 2007
Paul Hoynes
Plain Dealer Reporter
The third basemen that made the biggest impression on me in 24 years of covering baseball were George Brett and Wade Boggs. Maybe it was because they both kissed home plate against the Indians.

On Sept. 29, 1993, a cold night at Kauffman Stadium, Brett singled in the eighth inning to tie the Indians, 2-2. It was his last at- bat in front of the hometown Kansas City fans. The Royals won the game in the ninth, 3-2, and after the winning run scored, Brett was given a ride around the ballpark in a golf cart to say goodbye to more than 31,000 fans.

When the cart reached home, Brett got out, dropped to his knees and kissed the plate.

Boggs became famous with the Boston Red Sox and the New York Yankees, but he kissed home as a member of the Tampa Bay Devil Rays on Aug. 7, 1999. Boggs, in the sixth inning of 15-10 Indians victory, homered off Chris Haney for his 3,000th hit. He's the only player in the 3,000-hit club to gain entry with a homer.

After stepping on the plate at Tropicana Field, Boggs went to the ground and kissed it. It was his third hit of the night, but just his second homer of the season. In the press box, they handed out cigars in plastic cylinders as mementos. I still have mine.

Brett and Boggs are each in the Hall of Fame. Brett, a left-handed hitter, won three batting titles and had 3,154 hits. Boggs, a left-handed hitter, won five batting titles and finished with 3,010 hits. I picked Brett as the best third basemen I've seen because he hit for more power at a traditional power position.

In 21 seasons, Brett hit 317 homers with 1,595 RBI. Boggs, in 18 seasons, hit 118 homers with 1,014 RBI. Brett was a .337 (56-for-166) hitter in the postseason. Boggs hit .273 (42-for-154) in the postseason.

Neither player was a great third baseman, but they worked at it.

Brett played 1,692 games at third, but spent a lot of time at first base (461 games) and designated hitter (506 games), starting in the middle of his career. Boggs stayed on the hot corner much longer, playing 2,215 games there.

A couple of hours before Brett's last game, he was interviewed by several reporters. He was asked how he'd like the last at-bat of his career to go.

The answer still makes me smile.

My impression of Brett was that he was a Cadillac kind of ballplayer: big head, big home runs, big headlines and big money. He played ornery and always needed a shave.

Brett's answer showed another side of him.

"I'd probably like it to be a ground ball to second base," he said. "I've had over 10,000 at-bats, and I figured I've grounded out to second about 5,000 times.

"A double wouldn't be bad. A homer wouldn't be bad. But a ground ball to second would be perfect. Then I could run like crazy to try and beat the throw to first."

Brett, 40 at the time, was still talking like the hustling rookie whom hitting coach Charlie Lau took under his wing in 1974.

His final at-bat didn't follow Brett's script. The Royals ended the season against the Texas Rangers at old Arlington Stadium on Oct. 3, 1993.

When Brett came to the plate for the last time after going hitless in his first three at- bats, Rangers catcher Ivan Rodriguez told him that Tom Henke was going to throw him nothing but fastballs. Brett singled through the middle on a 1-2 pitch and scored on Gary Gaetti's homer.

"It was the most emotional at-bat I've ever had," Brett told Kansas City reporters. "I knew it was my last one. I could have played one more year but, if I'd played one more year, I'd have played for the money, and the game didn't deserve that."