So Jim Rice finally landed in the Baseball Hall of Fame on his 15th and final try.
Rice belongs in the Hall.
It shouldn’t have taken this long.
Rice and Fred Lynn helped turn the Red Sox into a consistent pennant contender and provide long-suffering Red Sox fans something to look forward to every spring.
They became a team worth watching after so many years of futility.
For those of us who began following them in the ’50s and ’60s, the highlight of a Red Sox telecast were the humorous beer commercials.
The schedule was expanded from 154 games to 162 in 1961 and, over the next 14 seasons, the Red Sox won 89 or more games just twice. One of those seasons was the Impossible Dream year in 1967 when the Red Sox shocked the sports world by reaching the World Series.
Rice and Lynn saw limited duty in 1974 but were full-fledged rookies in 1975 and guided the Red Sox to the World Series. Lynn was the Rookie of the Year and the Most Valuable Player (.331 average, 21 homers, 105 RBIs) and Rice hit .309 with 22 homers and 102 RBIs.
Up until Rice retired in 1989, the Red Sox won 89 or more games seven times, including the heartbreaking seasons of ’78 (remember Bucky bleeping Dent) and 1986 (one strike away from winning the World Series on a couple of occasions).
He played a large part in that success and in filling the cozy seats at Fenway Park.
Lynn left the Red Sox for the California Angels after the 1980 season.
Rice was one of the most feared hitters in the game. He had power to all fields and probably would have had even better numbers if he had hit to the opposite field more often.
He had quick wrists and the ball jumped off his bat.
He was also a respectable left fielder who played the Green Monster well. He didn’t run particularly well, but he had a strong arm.
His career statistics speak for themselves: .298 average, 382 homers, 1,451 runs batted in, 2,452 hits, 373 doubles and 79 triples.
He never hit below .280 in a full season.
Rice felt he should have been in the Hall long before this. He claimed the writers who didn’t vote for him were biased because he wasn’t a media darling.
He maintained that the numbers should be the only criteria.
But should they?
Would it have hurt to at least be respectful of the media instead of treating them with disdain and making their jobs more difficult?
Shouldn’t behavior play at least a small part in the voting criteria? I’m not saying players should be choir boys, but they should conduct themselves with a semblance of class.
They are role models.
Behavior does play a role.
Just ask Mark McGwire.
McGwire hasn’t come close to receiving the necessary votes for inclusion into the Hall.
The writers felt steroids played an important role in his prodigious power numbers.
The interesting thing is, in my opinion, McGwire helped Rice land in the Hall.
I’m sure part of the reason Rice earned votes he didn’t receive in previous voting was because he was clean.
He didn’t take any performance-enhancing drugs to pad his statistics.
He was a strong man who could hit a ball a long way.
The interesting aspect of the Jim Rice story is he has become a member of the media as an analyst for the New England Sports Network.
Thank God he doesn’t have to interview himself.