Jim Rice's Hall of Fame Chances
Today is the day that former Boston Red Sox slugger Jim Rice will hear if he is elected to the HOF in Cooperstown. It is likely that he will be elected in his final year of eligibility, along with sure fire lock Rickey Henderson.
But to me, and it pains me to say this, Jim Rice is not a Hall of Famer.
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I have been a Red Sox fan since 1975, when the young Sox lost the best World Series ever played to the Cincinnati Reds in seven games. Since that time I have lived and died with the team, enduring so many good times and quite a few bad ones. But Jim Rice, for all his fearsome slugging, was never someone I thought too highly of. He may have won one MVP award, in 1978, but he was noted for being a bad teammate and non-leader at at time when the Sox desperately needed a leader to help out Carlton Fisk, who unquestionably prior to his departure in 1980 for the Chicago White Sox, was the most important presence in the clubhouse. No, according to everything I read in the Boston media, Rice was content to put up good to great numbers each season and not do much else to help the club. He certainly was not a plus defender, and never a great baserunner, either.
The two lasting images of Rice I conjure up whenever I think of him are, first, on Yaz Day in 1983, when Yaz was pulled in the late innings to thunderous applause out of left field and Rice inserted in his place. A very nice memory of Rice that fits nicely along the touching tribute to Boston legend Carl Yastrzemski.
The second image is more lasting and more recent. In the middle of the so called "Morgan Magic" era in the late 1980's, Rice was pulled for a pinch hitter by manager Joe Morgan. Rice was offended and would up getting involved in a shoving match with Morgan out of camera range. This selfish act is what I recall more than anything. Rice was all about Rice, and cared little about the team or fans.
I have looked at the numbers and clearly even Rice's supporters know that he is in the low end of Hall of Fame caliber players. The fact that he was a selfish and arrogant guy during his time at Fenway pushes him out of the range of HOF type talent in my eyes.
But to me, and it pains me to say this, Jim Rice is not a Hall of Famer.
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I have been a Red Sox fan since 1975, when the young Sox lost the best World Series ever played to the Cincinnati Reds in seven games. Since that time I have lived and died with the team, enduring so many good times and quite a few bad ones. But Jim Rice, for all his fearsome slugging, was never someone I thought too highly of. He may have won one MVP award, in 1978, but he was noted for being a bad teammate and non-leader at at time when the Sox desperately needed a leader to help out Carlton Fisk, who unquestionably prior to his departure in 1980 for the Chicago White Sox, was the most important presence in the clubhouse. No, according to everything I read in the Boston media, Rice was content to put up good to great numbers each season and not do much else to help the club. He certainly was not a plus defender, and never a great baserunner, either.
The two lasting images of Rice I conjure up whenever I think of him are, first, on Yaz Day in 1983, when Yaz was pulled in the late innings to thunderous applause out of left field and Rice inserted in his place. A very nice memory of Rice that fits nicely along the touching tribute to Boston legend Carl Yastrzemski.
The second image is more lasting and more recent. In the middle of the so called "Morgan Magic" era in the late 1980's, Rice was pulled for a pinch hitter by manager Joe Morgan. Rice was offended and would up getting involved in a shoving match with Morgan out of camera range. This selfish act is what I recall more than anything. Rice was all about Rice, and cared little about the team or fans.
I have looked at the numbers and clearly even Rice's supporters know that he is in the low end of Hall of Fame caliber players. The fact that he was a selfish and arrogant guy during his time at Fenway pushes him out of the range of HOF type talent in my eyes.
posted by joe sweeney at 8:18 AM
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