STUMP STORY OF THE DAY
The Newest Yankee Hero: Ben Rice
Saturday featured a Yankee rookie have a 3 HR game after being called up from the minors just a few weeks ago!
When you think of the New York Yankees who do you think of? First you think of Supreme Court Justice, Aaron Judge. Then you think of Giancarlo Stanton and Juan Soto. After that maybe Gerritt Cole and Nestor Cortes. You could go down the list and maybe after 10 minutes, you would get to Ben Rice.
Well not for long because Rice season is officially upon us! It’s no secret that the Yankees have been on a downward trajectory in the month. After boasting one of the league’s best records, they were tied for the worst 30-day record in the league and had lost 14 of 18. To start the series against the Red Sox they blew a game when the Sox were down to their final strike.
Saturday rolls around and people are looking for the spark. Who’s going to be the hero?
Enter Ben Rice.
It wasn’t until a couple of weeks ago that Rice was called up from the minors to replace Anthony Rizzo at first base after his injury. Rice was drafted as a catcher from Dartmouth and had continued playing behind the plate while in the minors. Well when the Yankees told him to suit up they told him he would be at First!
The 25-year-old from Cohasset, MA took it in stride and changed positions because he had what every player in the minors dreamt of. A chance.
I don’t know if Yankees had been watching ‘Moneyball’ and Scott Hatteburg but whatever prompted them to make this decision was a good one. For a month now all the Yankees have been looking for has been a spark.
And although most fireworks were displayed on the 4th, there were aftershocks in the Bronx on the 6th.
In the leadoff spot Ben Rice hit a solo homer to start the game in the 1st. He then put the exclamation point on a 7-run inning with a 3-run shot in the 4th. And if this wasn’t enough, he tacked on another 3-run homer in the 7th.
He came into this game with 1 HR and 5 RBIs. He left the game with 4 HR and 12 RBIs.
He did what most try and accomplish in two weeks in the span of three hours.
The best part of this was not the home runs but what happened afterward. After his third Homer of the afternoon, Yankee Stadium had become Rice Stadium and the crowd was begging for a curtain call. Rice didn’t seem to know what to do. The entire dugout was ushering him out but he was looking at them wondering ‘What are you pointing at?’
After they almost physically pushed him out, he stepped out of the dugout and took off his helmet for the 45,000 fans in attendance. For a rookie has just been trying to find his place with the team, it’s crazy how a single day can change everything.
A curtain call, a postgame interview, and a sea of 20 reporters by his locker after the game. A day Ben Rice and Yankees fans alike will not be forgotten!
Maybe this is the exact spark the boys needed. Only time will tell!
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