Benjamin Kimball Rice (born February 22, 1999) is an American professional baseball first baseman and catcher for the New York Yankees of Major League Baseball. He made his major league debut in June 2024. On July 6, 2024, he made history as the first Yankees rookie to hit three home runs in a game.
| Ben Rice | |
|---|---|
| New York Yankees – No. 93 | |
| First baseman / Catcher | |
| Born: February 22, 1999 Cohasset, Massachusetts, U.S. | |
Bats: Left Throws: Right | |
| MLB debut | |
| June 18, 2024, for the New York Yankees | |
| MLB statistics (through July 6, 2024) | |
| Batting average | .294 |
| Home runs | 4 |
| Runs batted in | 12 |
| Teams | |
| |
Early life
Rice grew up in Cohasset, Massachusetts.[1] He began playing hockey at a young age before pursuing baseball.[2] He was a New York Yankees fan despite most of his friends supporting the Boston Red Sox; his favorite player was Derek Jeter.[3]
Career
Student and Minor League
Rice attended Noble and Greenough School in Dedham, Massachusetts, and Dartmouth College, where he played college baseball for the Dartmouth Big Green.[4] He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in psychology from Dartmouth.[5] The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in decreased playing opportunities, but Rice helped organize scrimmages among Ivy League baseball players in the fall of 2020 to offset this.[5] In 2021, he played collegiate summer baseball with the Cotuit Kettleers of the Cape Cod Baseball League.[6] He was drafted by the New York Yankees in the 12th round of the 2021 Major League Baseball draft.[7]
Rice spent his first professional season with the Florida Complex League Yankees and Tampa Tarpons and played 2022 with Tampa. He started 2023 with Tampa before being promoted to the Hudson Valley Renegades and Somerset Patriots.[8] Rice began the 2024 season with Somerset and was promoted to the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders on June 5.[9]
Major League
On June 18, 2024, the Yankees promoted Rice to the major leagues for the first time.[10] He made his debut that day against the Baltimore Orioles. He recorded his first major league hit in the third inning with a single to right field.[11] On July 6, in a game against the Boston Red Sox, he became the first rookie in Yankees history to hit three home runs in a single game;[12] his seven runs batted in also matched Lou Gehrig's record for a Yankee rookie.[12]
Personal life
Rice's father, Dan, played college baseball for Brown University.[13]
References
- ^ Abraham, Peter. "Ben Rice grew up a Yankees fan in Cohasset and made New York history with three homers vs. Red Sox". The Boston Globe. Retrieved July 7, 2024.
- ^ Serby, Steve. "Ben Rice's father, Dan, exudes the pride of being a Yankees parent". New York Post. Retrieved July 7, 2024.
- ^ Abraham, Peter. "Ben Rice grew up a Yankees fan in Cohasset and made New York history with three homers vs. Red Sox". The Boston Globe. Retrieved July 7, 2024.
- ^ Miller, Randy (February 3, 2024). "Yankees' Ben Rice gave up hockey (unlike mom), but the New Englander who loved Derek Jeter now is a hotshot prospect | Q&A". nj.com.
- ^ a b Rublin, Daniel. "Q&A with Yankees prospect Ben Rice '22". The Dartmouth. Retrieved July 7, 2024.
- ^ "Ben Rice". pointstreak.com. Retrieved September 4, 2023.
- ^ Dudek, Greg. "From fan to draft pick: Cohasset's Ben Rice selected by New York Yankees". The Patriot Ledger.
- ^ "Double-A call-up makes early splash in Yankees crowded catcher picture". Yahoo Sports. August 10, 2023.
- ^ "This Yanks prospect's power surge set to hit The Show". MLB.com.
- ^ "Yankees Place Ian Hamilton, Cody Poteet On Injured List". mlbtraderumors.com. Retrieved June 18, 2024.
- ^ https://apnews.com/article/ben-rice-debut-yankees-16ee16c2a7ee23902769824da14a1890
- ^ a b "Rice makes Yanks history with 3-HR game vs. Red Sox". MLB.com. Retrieved July 6, 2024.
- ^ Loftus, Mike. "Cohasset's Ben Rice gets a chance to play ball, after all". The Patriot Ledger.
External links
- Career statistics and player information from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball Reference, or Fangraphs, or Baseball Reference (Minors)