NEW YORK -- This story starts with a Sharpie. A boy from Cohasset, Mass., standing inside Fenway Park on a family tour, pressed against the right-field foul pole and scrawling a defiant message: Yankees Rule!
Ben Rice laughs now at the memory, having called it “one of the very few, if any” examples of pro-Yankees messages hiding on the Pesky Pole. Yet that moment foreshadowed something greater.
The Ivy League kid who once wore a Derek Jeter pinstriped jersey for his first-grade picture day has grown into one of the Bombers’ most important October bats, ready to swing in an American League Wild Card Series showdown against the franchise he grew up needling.
“It’s a good team, and obviously it’s such a historic rivalry,” Rice said. “It’ll be a fun series to be a part of, and we’re going to put our best foot forward.”
Normally even-keeled, Rice has flashed a new side of his personality in recent days, busting a move on the carpet during the wet-and-wild bubbly celebration of the Yankees’ postseason clinch last Tuesday, then roaring around the bases with fervor after the first of two homers in Sunday’s Game 162 victory over the Orioles.
It provided an exclamation mark at the conclusion of a stellar first full season in the Majors for Rice, who produced 26 homers and 65 RBIs. Yankees captain Aaron Judge describes Rice as a player who “does his homework," a fine compliment from an MVP candidate who does the same.
“When he gets a pitch to hit, he doesn’t miss it,” Judge said. “Even in situations where he may hit a homer in his first at-bat on a certain pitch, he’s talking with me, he’s talking with Big G [Giancarlo Stanton] about, ‘Hey, how do you think he’s going to attack me this next at-bat?’”
Yankees manager Aaron Boone referred to Rice as “Benny Barrels,” and the 26-year-old’s advanced metrics illustrate the point. Rice’s Baseball Savant page is bathed in red. His 56.1 percent hard-hit rate ranks in the 97th percentile, evidence of how consistently he drives the ball.
Rice's expected stats are also in the high-90th percentiles, validating the sense he’s been unlucky at times.
“I think if you go up there with a good plan and execute, you’re probably going to hit the ball on the sweet spot,” Rice said.
The Red Sox were introduced to Rice’s big bat in July 2024, when he became the first Yankees rookie to hit three homers in a game on July 6, torching Boston pitching to earn his first Bronx curtain call. It was no one-off, and now Rice has forced his way into the spotlight with more than just his bat.
Splitting time between catcher and first base, his rise has effectively nudged former MVP Paul Goldschmidt into platoon duty at first. Goldschmidt said he’s been impressed by Rice’s work ethic at both positions.
“The other day, he was playing first base, but he was out there catching a bullpen [session] a couple of hours before the game,” Goldschmidt said. “Other times he’s been catching and still taking grounders.
“He’s a great hitter, but he’s gotten better over the year, learning how they’re going to pitch him or adjustments he needs to make. It’s not easy to learn at the big league level, and he’s had to do that. He’s done a great job.”
Converted to first base as an on-the-fly injury fill-in last year, Rice said he’s feeling “increasingly comfortable” patrolling the infield.
“Obviously I have less experience than most guys over there, but I feel good,” Rice said. “When they’re penciling me in over there, it’s for a reason. I know the guys believe in me over there, and I believe in myself.”
That poise was forged long before he saw Yankee Stadium's lights burn. For much of his youth, Rice’s passion leaned toward hockey. His mother, Sophie, was a figure skater turned hockey player who still laces up in a women’s league.
Rice himself was a varsity player as a high school freshman at a program known for producing NHL talent before shifting his focus to baseball at Dartmouth and in a pandemic-season detour to the Futures Collegiate Baseball League, where his swing finally caught the attention of scouts.
“He was this All-American-looking kid who had big left-handed raw power and was at a premium position as a catcher, with [good] makeup,” recalled Matt Hyde, the Yankees scout credited with Rice’s signing. “He absolutely loves the game. Loves to play, loves to be at the field, loves to put in the work. Those are the intangibles we’re looking for.”
The Ivy Leaguer-turned-Yankee masher now prepares for his first taste of October, the kind of stage he once envisioned in his backyard. It seems fitting that the opponent happens to be Boston.
“Every game is going to be more important than the last one,” Rice said. “We’ve just got to stay on top of it and keep our foot on the gas.”