In the year 2000, the Tampa Bay Rays had been around for exactly two seasons. It was not exactly a long stretch of time by any imagination, but the Rays still had their historic moments. Of course, the majority of those came from Wade Boggs, who hit the first home run in team history, and recorded his 3000th hit as a Ray, using another home run for the milestone.
Even though Boggs retired at the end of the 1999 campaign, he was still a key part of Rays history. And so, despite just two years in Tampa Bay, the Rays decided to retire his number 12.