Age: 25
4th season
with Red Sox
Bats – Right,
Throws – Right
Height: 6’2” Weight: 200
Prior to 1978:
A native of
South Carolina, Rice played football and basketball in addition to baseball in
high school. Having received recognition for his play in the defensive
backfield, and as a kick returner, he received college football scholarship
offers. But he chose to sign with the Red Sox for $45,000, who had picked him
in the first round of the 1971 amateur draft. As an 18-year-old in ’71 he
appeared in 60 games with Williamsport of the Class A New York-Pennsylvania
League and batted .256 with 5 home runs and 27 RBIs while struggling to hit
curveballs. He improved in 1972 with Winter Haven of the Class A Florida State
League, hitting .291 with 17 home runs and 87 RBIs and made the league All-Star
team. Promoted to Bristol of the Class AA Eastern League in 1973, Rice was
again a league All-Star as he topped the circuit with a .317 batting average
while also compiling 27 home runs and 93 RBIs. He joined Pawtucket of the Class
AAA International League late in the season and provided a boost to the team in
the league playoffs. Remaining with Pawtucket in 1974 Rice was again a batting
champion by hitting .337 with league-leading totals of 25 home runs and 93
RBIs. He was named Minor League Player of the Year by The Sporting News and
received an August call-up to the Red Sox in which he hit his first major
league home run and batted .269 in 67 at bats. A hot rookie prospect entering
the 1975 season with Boston, along with centerfielder, Fred Lynn, it was
anticipated that Rice would primarily be used as a Designated Hitter, although
he was initially blocked in that role by Tony Conigliaro, who was attempting to
make a comeback with the Red Sox. He ended up seeing considerable action in
left field, where he proved to be a good fit, and hit .309 with 22 home runs
and 102 RBIs, although he was overshadowed by Lynn, who he lost to in Rookie of
the Year voting. A broken hand suffered in September cut his season short and
he missed the postseason as a result, with Boston going on to win the AL
pennant but losing the World Series to Cincinnati. Splitting time between left
field and DH in 1976, Rice had a somewhat lesser season, batting .282 with 25
home runs and 85 RBIs. He produced far more in 1977, hitting .320 with 114 RBIs
while leading the league with 39 home runs and a .593 slugging percentage. He
was an All-Star for the first time and finished fourth in MVP balloting.
1978 Season Summary
Appeared in 163
games
LF – 101, DH – 49,
RF – 15, CF – 1
[Bracketed
numbers indicate AL rank in Top 20]
Batting
Plate
Appearances – 746 [1]
At Bats – 677
[1]
Runs – 121 [2]
Hits – 213 [1]
Doubles – 25
Triples – 15 [1]
Home Runs – 46
[1]
RBI – 139 [1]
Bases on Balls
– 58
Int. BB – 7 [10,
tied with seven others]
Strikeouts – 126
[4]
Stolen Bases – 7
Caught Stealing
– 5
Average - .315
[3]
OBP - .370 [12,
tied with Ben Oglivie]
Slugging Pct. -
.600 [1]
Total Bases – 406
[1]
GDP – 15 [17,
tied with nine others]
Hit by Pitches
– 5
Sac Hits – 1
Sac Flies – 5
League-leading plate
appearances were +5 ahead of runner-up Ron LeFlore
League-leading
at bats were +11 ahead of runner-up Ron LeFlore
League-leading
hits were +15 ahead of runner-up Ron LeFlore
League-leading triples
were +5 ahead of runners-up Dan Ford & Rod Carew
League-leading
home runs were +12 ahead of runners-up Don Baylor & Larry Hisle
League-leading
RBIs were +18 ahead of runner-up Rusty Staub
League-leading slugging
pct was +.067 ahead of runner-up Larry Hisle
League-leading
total bases were +113 ahead of runner-up Eddie Murray
Midseason
snapshot: HR – 23, RBI – 74, AVG - .323, SLG – .628
---
Most hits, game
– 4 (in 4 AB) vs. Cleveland 8/8, (in 5 AB) vs. Milwaukee 8/12, (in 5 AB) at
Oakland 8/18
Longest hitting
streak – 13 games
HR at home – 28
HR on road – 18
Most home runs,
game – 2 (in 4 AB) vs. Baltimore 5/1, (in 4 AB) vs. Cleveland 8/8, (in 5 AB) vs.
Toronto 8/30, (in 4 AB) vs. Baltimore 9/11
Multi-HR games
– 4
Most RBIs, game
– 5 at Cleveland 7/7
Pinch-hitting –
No appearances
Fielding
Chances – 261
Put Outs – 245
Assists – 13
Errors – 3
DP – 1
Pct. - .989
Awards & Honors:
AL MVP: BBWAA
All-Star
(Started for AL in LF)
Top 5 in AL MVP
Voting:
Jim Rice, Bos.:
352 pts. – 20 of 28 first place votes, 90% share
Ron Guidry, NYY:
291 pts. – 8 first place votes, 74% share
Larry Hisle,
Mil.: 201 pts. – 51% share
Amos Otis, KC.:
90 pts. – 23% share
Rusty Staub,
Det.: 88 pts. – 22% share
---
---
Red Sox went 99-63
to finish tied for first in the AL Eastern Division with the New York Yankees,
which necessitated a season-extending single-game playoff, won by the Yankees. As
a result, Boston finished second in the AL East with a final record of 99-64. The
Red Sox started fast and held a 10-game lead in the division on July 8. A
second-half collapse allowed the slow-starting Yankees, who went 39-15 after
falling 14 games behind in July to move into first in mid-September. Boston then
needed an 8-game winning streak to force the climactic playoff.
Aftermath of ‘78:
Rice maintained
his outstanding production in 1979 by batting .325 with 39 home runs and 130
RBIs. In addition to being an All-Star for the third straight season he placed
fifth in AL MVP voting. Rice missed time with a broken wrist in 1980 but still
hit .294 with 24 home runs and 86 RBIs. He had a down year during the
strike-interrupted 1981 season, batting .284 with 17 home runs and 62 RBIs. Often
characterized as moody and surly by sportswriters, Rice was a quiet and intense
person, but he showed another side during a game in 1982 when he went to the
aid of a four-year-old boy who had suffered a fractured skull when hit by a
foul ball and carried the injured youngster to the clubhouse where he received
medical attention. For the year he hit .309 with 24 home runs and 97 RBIs
during a season in which he suffered two severe hamstring pulls. Rice bounced
back in 1983 to bat .305 with a league-leading 39 home runs and 126 RBIs while
also performing very well defensively. He was an All-Star again following a
two-year absence and finished fourth in league MVP balloting. Rice was
productive again in 1984 as he hit .280 with 28 home runs and 122 RBIs. With a
tendency to hit into double plays, he set a record by grounding into 36 that
year. Plagued by injuries in 1985, Rice still batted .291 with 27 home runs and
103 RBIs. 1986 was a pennant-winning year for the Red Sox and Rice contributed
a .324 average and 200 hits along with 39 doubles, 20 home runs, and 110 RBIs.
In his first taste of postseason action he batted .333 in the seven-game World
Series loss to the Mets. With his production dropping off in 1987 and ’88. He
was released during the 1989 season, which ended his career. For his major
league career, played entirely with the Red Sox, Rice batted .298 with 2452
hits that included 373 doubles, 79 triples, and 382 home runs. He further
compiled 1451 RBIs and scored 1249 runs. Appearing in 18 postseason games, he
hit .225 with two home runs and 7 RBIs. An eight-time All-Star, Rice finished
in the top five in AL All-Star voting six times including the one win. The Red
Sox retired his #14 and he was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2009.
--
MVP Profiles feature players in the National or
American leagues who were winners of the Chalmers Award (1911-14), League Award
(1922-29), or Baseball Writers’ Association of America Award (1931 to present)
as Most Valuable Player.
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