Rice, "Jim" (James E.)
Baseball
b. March 8, 1953, Anderson, SC
A very strong right-handed hitter, the 6-foot-2, 205-pound Rice joined the AL's Boston Red Sox late in the 1974 season. The following year, he and teammate Fred Lynn staged a season-long battle for rookie of the year and most valuable player honors. Rice batted .309 with 22 home runs and 102 RBI, but Lynn won both awards.
After hitting a league-leading 39 home runs in 1977, Rice had his best season in 1978, when he won the MVP award, leading the league with 213 runs scored, 15 triples, 46 home runs, 139 RBI, and a .600 slugging percentage. He batted .315 that year.
Rice hit 39 home runs with 130 RBI and a .325 average in 1979, then was troubled by injuries for several seasons. He returned to health in 1983, batting .305 with a league-leading 39 home runs and 126 RBI. That was the last year in which he hit over .300. He retired after batting jut .234 in 56 games in 1989.
In 16 seasons, all with Boston, Rice batted .295 with 2,452 hits, including 373 doubles, 79 triples, and 382 home runs. He drove in 1,451 runs and scored 1,249.