Red Sox will retire Wade Boggs’ No. 26 and we’ll drink to that

(AP) When we’re talking about Wade Boggs, the Hall of Fame third baseman, it’s hard to not talk about numbers. He had 3,010 hits in 18 MLB seasons, finishing with a .328 career average. He’s also famous for supposedly drinking 107 beers in a day.

Both are impressive feats, but the first is the reason for this next bit of historical numerology: The Boston Red Sox announced Monday that they plan to retire Boggs’ No. 26 next May.

The best response we have to that news is “cheers!”

As much as Boggs’ ability to soak up the suds has made him an Internet folk hero in recent years, this news is actually quite a big deal for Boggs’ legacy. If you’re reading this and wondering, “Gee, the Red Sox hadn’t retired Boggs’ number before this, what’s up with that?!?” you may not be alone.

[Elsewhere: Bryce Harper and Kris Bryant honored with keys to Las Vegas]

During his Red Sox tenure, Boggs won five batting titles, six silver sluggers, passed 200 hits in seven seasons and was named an All-Star eight times. But until now, he was the only Hall of Famer to go into Cooperstown wearing a Red Sox cap and not have his number retired by the team. Even the Rays, for whom Boggs only played two seasons as he collected hit No. 3,000, retired Boggs’ No. 12 years ago. But not the Red Sox?

It was a bit of a contentious issue, as our own Kevin Kaduk wrote about back in 2012, but to boil it down: The official stance from the Red Sox was that they only retire the numbers of players who play there 10 seasons and finish their careers in Boston. They’d made exceptions before — for Carlton Fisk, for instance — so other theories said it was because Boggs won a World Series with the Yankees or made headlines in the ’80s because of an ugly affair with Margo Adams.

Whatever the reasons, they’re gone now and Boggs is getting his just due. How excited was he? Well, check out this tweet from shortly after the news was announced:

Don’t know which is worse the tears in my eyes or the goose bumps!!

— Wade Boggs (@ChickenMan3010) December 21, 2015

[Elsewhere: This Seattle Mariners video will get you in the holiday spirit]

Before this, the Sox hadn’t been shy about giving out No. 26, which was all the more puzzling. Since Boggs left Boston in 1992, 13 players have worn it — a smorgasbord that included such luminaries as Scott Podsednik, Aaron Sele and Alejandro Pena. Brock Holt has worn it the past three seasons, but will now wear No. 12. Holt doesn’t mind switching, judging by this tweet to Boggs: