According to the Society for American Baseball Research (SABR), the legend goes that Boggs' trajectory to the Major Leagues was apparent from an early age. Baseball legend Ted Williams was allegedly shown a picture of an 18-month-old Boggs and remarked, "That kid's got a hell of a stance! Everything's perfect! He ought to become a great hitter!" Boggs was born in Omaha, Nebraska in 1958, but spent a good chunk of his childhood in Tampa, Florida, where he and his family moved once his father had retired from the military.

Boggs was taken by the Boston Red Sox in the seventh round of the 1976 amateur draft. After he was signed he went to the minor leagues, where he spent the first few seasons of his professional baseball career. He made his big league debut in 1982 with the Boston Red Sox, and finished third in Rookie of the Year voting, per Baseball Reference. Boggs went on to play in the Majors until his retirement 1999. Over the course of his career — which was spent with the Red Sox, New York Yankees, and finally, the Tampa Bay Devil Rays (now known simply as the Tampa Bay Rays) — Boggs earned a reputation as one of baseball's best hitters, and gave him a spot at the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown.

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