Baseball

WHO WANTS WADE?

For six months the Red Sox have tried to trade third baseman Wade Boggs. One of the teams they have been talking to is Atlanta, but last week two general managers from other National League teams said that if they were working for the Braves, they wouldn't trade lefthander Tom Glavine, one of the pitchers mentioned as trade bait, for Boggs. Are they serious? Last year Glavine was 7-17 with a 4.56 ERA!

Boggs, of course, is one of the premier hitters of all time. He has a .355 lifetime batting average, fourth behind Ty Cobb, Rogers Hornsby and Shoeless Joe Jackson, and he has led the American League in batting and on-base average in five of the last six years. Yet his trade value isn't what the Red Sox thought it would be; his lack of power hitting (five homers in '88) has left him, in Boggs's words, "without the respect I'd like to believe I've earned." One American League coach says, "Get Boggs out of Fenway, where he uses the short foul territory and the Wall so well, and he's a 30-year-old .320 singles hitter who can't run."

Last week SI asked 12 American League managers to compare Boggs with other superstars in the league. Here's how they responded.

1. Who is the best third baseman in the league?

All but two managers chose Minnesota's Gary Gaetti. The Brewers' Paul Molitor got one vote, and Boggs and Gaetti split the other one.

2. Would you take Boggs over the following players?

Gaetti. One vote for Boggs.

Molitor. Six for Molitor, five for Boggs, one draw.

Cal Ripken. Two for Boggs.