Rice joins Home Run Derby field, looking to be Yankees' first winner since '17

ST. PETERSBURG – Ben Rice has done plenty of swinging for the fences in a Yankees uniform, dating back to a historic performance in one of his first games. Now he’ll be showing off that left-handed stroke in the T-Mobile Home Run Derby.

Rice will be among the participants in the Derby, to be held July 13 at Philadelphia’s Citizens Bank Park at 8 p.m. ET live on Netflix, the slugger announced on Tuesday. He already knows who will pitch to him, too -- his father.

Dan Rice was a pitcher on Brown University’s baseball team in the 1980s, now returning to the mound a couple of decades later to groove fastballs to his son. Rice recently told NJ.com that his dad still occasionally throws to him during the offseason.

The Yankees’ team leader with 25 home runs, the 27-year-old Rice has become a staple in the Bombers’ lineup, belting 58 homers over his first three seasons in the Majors.

Rice introduced himself to the game’s oldest rivalry by hitting three homers against the Red Sox in a July 2024 contest, becoming the first Yankees rookie ever to enjoy a three-homer game.

Now Rice will test that stroke in the Derby, where the Yankees have had mixed results over the years.

Jazz Chisholm Jr. entered last season but was eliminated in the first round; Chisholm was the Yanks’ first entry since 2017, when Aaron Judge won the competition in Miami. Gary Sánchez also participated in 2017.

Four Yankees have won the Home Run Derby: Tino Martinez (1997), Jason Giambi (2002), Robinson Canó (2011) and Judge (2017).