Jan. 4 (Bloomberg) -- Wade Boggs, a five-time batting champion, and Ryne Sandberg, a nine-time Gold Glove winner at second base, were elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

Boggs was the 41st player to get the required 75 percent of votes cast by members of the Baseball Writers Association of America in his first year of eligibility. Sandberg was on the ballot for the third time.

Boggs, who had 3,010 career hits, was among 12 first-year candidates on this year's ballot. Players have to be retired from Major League Baseball for five years to be eligible.

Boggs received 474 votes, or 91.9 percent of the 516 ballots cast. Sandberg received 393 votes, six more than the needed number.

Boggs's vote total was the third highest in history, behind 491 for pitcher Nolan Ryan and 488 for third baseman George Brett in 1999. His percentage was the 19th highest.

Relief pitchers Bruce Sutter (66.7 percent) and Rich ``Goose'' Gossage (55.2) and outfielders Jim Rice (59.5) and Andre Dawson (52.3) were the only other players to be named on at least half of the ballots cast.

Boggs and Sandberg will be enshrined during a ceremony July 31 at the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York.

Boggs, whose hit total is 23rd on the all-time list, won the American League batting title in 1983 and from 1985-88 with the Boston Red Sox. The 12-time All-Star selection set a league record with seven straight seasons of 200 or more hits and six consecutive years leading the AL in intentional walks.

Series Celebration

The 46-year-old Boggs was a career .328 hitter with 118 home runs and 1,014 runs batted in over 2,439 games with Boston, the New York Yankees and Tampa Bay from 1982-99.

He won his only World Series ring with New York in 1996, riding a police horse around the Yankee Stadium playing field during the postgame celebration, and is the only player in major- league history to hit a homer for his 3,000th hit, in 1999 with the Devil Rays.

Sandberg was a 10-time All-Star pick and the National League's Most Valuable Player in 1984, when he hit .314 with 19 triples, 19 homers and 84 RBI for the Chicago Cubs. Besides his Gold Gloves as the best fielder at his position, Sandberg led the National League with 40 homers in 1990.

The 45-year-old Sandberg hit .285 with 78 triples, 282 homers, 1,061 RBI and 344 steals with Philadelphia and the Cubs from 1981-94 and 1996-97. He played 13 games with the Phillies in 1981 before being traded to Chicago.

To contact the reporter on this story: Dan Bollerman in Princeton at dbollerman@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: January 4, 2005 14:11 EST