BASEBALL MISCELLANY : WHEN YOU’RE HOT . . .

Wade Boggs of the Boston Red Sox: news,22p9,8.5,pl He batted .485 in June, improving his average from .337 to .391. “This is the longest good streak for me ever,” Boggs said. “I’m not doing anything differently, but I’m seeing the ball well and laying off the bad pitches.” Can he hit .400? “I think Wade Boggs can do anything he wants to do,” teammate Dwight Evans said.

Tony Gwynn of the San Diego Padres: news,22p9,8.5,pl He batted .473 in June, improving his average from .331 to .377. “Right now, this is the best I’m swinging the bat in my life,” Gwynn said, although he hasn’t been swinging it well enough to influence All-Star voters, who have not put him among the top three National League outfielders. “It’s a shame,” Padre Manager Larry Bowa said of the voting. “If he’s not one of the top three outfielders in baseball, who is? That includes Japan and all of Asia. The only thing he doesn’t do is hit home runs. And if he wanted to do that, he could.”

Dave Winfield of the New York Yankees: news,22p9,8.5,pl In a 24-game stretch that began when both Don Mattingly and Rickey Henderson went out of the lineup, he batted .344 with 7 homers and 26 runs batted in. Even a frequent critic named George Steinbrenner was impressed. “We have to give Dave Winfield an A-plus,” he said. “He’s just been tremendous.”