Quote:
Originally Posted by Aquarian Sports Cards
It does seem Gwyyn gets a lot more love, even though if I was drafting a team today and I could have either of them for the careers they put up I take Boggs. I've also always wondered why the Red Sox delayed his development so long. Two full seasons at AA and Two more full seasons at AAA even though he produced right away at each level. Accounts for his relatively late start at age 24.
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Those AA years he was behind Butch Hobson, who was a fan favorite and when he didn't have elbow problems was a good fielder.
The AAA seasons the sox had Glenn Hoffman in 1980 but Boggs had just got to AAA In 81 Carney Lansford won the batting title.
The Sox at the time weren't all that good at player development, often keeping major league guys around much longer than most teams would today. In a way Boggs may have benefitted from not being the guy replacing Hobson, which would have come with a bit of stress from comparisons. And also sort of lucky to miss being in the strike in 81. When he came in there was no stigma, and he eventually replaced a guy who hit well in a short year but not in full seasons.
I'm not sure, but there may have been gaps in his game he needed to fix before really being ready.