NEW YORK (AP) — Ben Rice was prepared with the inside track for his main league debut.
After operating to first base Tuesday night time, the 25-year-old turned to the Bleacher Creatures throughout his first Yankee Stadium Roll Name. He rotated his proper hand a half-dozen occasions over his glove as if consuming, nicely, rice.
“I got here up with that within the locker room in all probability solely like an hour earlier than the sport,” he mentioned after going 1 for 4 in New York’s 4-2 win over Baltimore. “A bunch of men have been asking me what I ought to do, and I used to be like, all proper, I’ve acquired to do one thing that has to do with rice, proper? I’m consuming a bowl of rice for them.”
Rice singled to proper discipline within the third inning as a part of a two-run rally that constructed a 3-0 lead.
“Simply an unreal expertise. Completely surreal. I’m going to recollect it perpetually,” he mentioned.
Rice’s mother and pa have been on the sport alongside along with his girlfriend, her household and highschool and faculty buddies.
Known as up as a result of Anthony Rizzo broke his proper forearm on Sunday night time, Rice discovered of the promotion when Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre supervisor Shelley Duncan contacted him by FaceTime at 10 p.m. Monday night time.
Rice drove from Scranton to New York on Tuesday — he made cellphone calls in the course of the journey to attempt to preserve his thoughts busy. He had by no means been to Yankee Stadium and went on to the ballpark with out stopping at a resort.
“Whirlwind might be one of the best phrase, proper?” he mentioned. “I felt like I used to be type of on the transfer the entire day, operating round making an attempt to settle in, get acclimated and every thing, after which type of simply get thrown proper into it, into the sport.”
Rice was hitting .275 with 15 homers and 26 RBIs in 49 video games this 12 months with Double-A Somerset and Scranton. Promoted to Triple-A on June 5, Rice batted .333 with three homers, 10 RBIs and a 1.059 OPS in 11 video games with the RailRiders. A Twelfth-round decide within the 2021 newbie draft from Darmouth, he performed 118 minor league video games at catcher and 55 at first.
“He’s nonetheless clearly studying the place and never even a completed product over there, however we simply felt like he was the man that would doubtlessly give us the best affect,” Yankees supervisor Aaron Boone mentioned.
Rice confirmed some inexperience when he ranged to his proper to discipline Austin Hays’ second-inning grounder that Gleyber Torres might have gloved at second. Pondering that Rice would cowl first, Nestor Cortes stayed on the mound and Hays reached with an infield hit.
Boone mentioned Rice, DJ LeMahieu and Oswaldo Cabrera will type the corners of the infield whereas Rizzo is sidelined.
Yankees bench coach Brad Ausmus, like Rice a former Dartmouth catcher, managed New York via the highest of the sixth inning till Boone reached the dugout following the highschool commencement of son Brandon.
“That was tremendous cool and Dartmouth shouldn’t be the one connection. My previous journey baseball coach was his longtime agent,” Rice mentioned. “I’ve type of recognized who Brad was for a very long time, and a little bit of a task mannequin for me.”
Although he grew up within the Boston space, Rice was a Yankees fan.
“I liked Derek Jeter. He was at all times my favourite participant,” Rice mentioned. “My mother and father at all times mentioned that he was an excellent function mannequin. I learn his biography once I was a bit man.”
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