Jim Rice's days with the Red Sox began in 1971, when he was the team's first round pick in the June draft.  He went on to play sixteen major league seasons for the Sox, making the All-Star Team eight times, and winning the American League M.V.P. in 1978.  In 1992, "Jim Ed" was named roving minor league hitting coach in the Red Sox organization, and in 1995 he became the hitting coach for the big league club.  Respected by teammates, opponents, and fans (and my first favorite player!), Jim Rice easily followed the footsteps of his left field predecessors Ted Williams and Carl Yastrzemski into Red Sox lore. In 2009, he followed Ted and Yaz once more, when he was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

		AVG	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	SB
1974	Boston	.269	24	67	6	18	2	1	1	13	4	12	0
1975	Boston	.309	144	564	92	174	29	4	22	102	36	122	10
1976	Boston	.282	153	581	75	164	25	8	25	85	28	123*	8
1977	Boston	.320	160	644	104	206	29	15	39*	114	53	120	5
1978	Boston	.315	163*	677*	121	213*	25	15*	46*	139*	58	126	7
1979	Boston	.325	158	619	117	201	39	6	39	130	57	97	9
1980	Boston	.294	124	504	81	148	22	6	24	86	30	87	8
1981	Boston	.284	108	451*	51	128	18	1	17	62	34	76	2
1982	Boston	.309	145	573	86	177	24	5	24	97	55	98	0
1983	Boston	.305	155	626	90	191	34	1	39*	126**	52	102	0
1984	Boston	.280	159	657	98	184	25	7	28	122	44	102	4
1985	Boston	.291	140	546	85	159	20	3	27	103	51	75	2
1986	Boston	.324	157	618	98	200	39	2	20	110	62	78	0
1987	Boston	.277	108	404	66	112	14	0	13	62	45	77	1
1988	Boston	.264	135	485	57	128	18	3	15	72	48	89	1
1989	Boston	.234	56	209	22	49	10	2	3	28	13	39	1
M.L. Totals		.298	2089	8222	1249	2452	373	79	382	1451	670	1423	58

* Led league
** Tied for league lead

•  Jim had an excellent year with AAA Pawtucket in 1974. He won the International League triple crown with a .337 average, 25 home runs, and 95 RBI. He was chosen as the International League M.V.P. and Rookie of the Year, and the minor leagues' Player of the Year. He made his major league debut in August of 1974.

•  He batted .309 in his rookie year of 1975, with 22 home runs and 102 RBI. His offense helped the team capture the 1975 A.L. pennant. Unfortunately, he broke his hand in one of the last few games of the season, and was unable to play in the playoffs or World Series that year.

•  Jim was chosen to play in his first All-Star game in 1977. It was the first of eight All-Star selections, including 1978, 1979, 1983, and 1985, when he was voted in as a starter.

•  On August 29, 1977, Jim Rice hit three home runs. His only other three-homer game came exactly six years later, on August 29, 1983.

•  In 1977, he led the league with 39 home runs. He also had 206 hits, marking the first of three consecutive years with at least 35 homers and 200 hits. He was the first player ever to have accomplished that feat. He also led the league in total bases for three straight years, becoming only the third A.L. player - after Ty Cobb and Ted Williams - to do so.

•  Rice had an even better year in 1978, leading the majors in several categories, including hits (213), home runs (46), RBI (139), triples (15) and slugging percentage (.600) - enough to make him an easy choice for the American League M.V.P.

•  In 1983, he had 21 outfield assists, becoming the first Red Sox player to record over 20 since 1944.

•  He finished third in M.V.P. balloting in 1986, when he finished the season with a .324 average, 200 hits, 20 home runs, and 110 RBI.

•  Jim Rice hit over 20 homers in 11 seasons, topped 100 RBI eight times, and had four 200-hit seasons. He ended with 382 homers, third on the all-time Red Sox list, behind Ted Williams and Carl Yastrzemski. On the all-time Red Sox leaders list, he places third in home runs, RBI, hits, at-bats, and total bases; fourth in runs scored and extra-base hits; fifth in slugging percentage; and sixth in doubles and triples.

•  Jim was inducted into the Red Sox Hall of Fame in 1995, the year it opened.

•  From 1995 to 2000, Rice served as hitting coach for the Red Sox. The team hit .284 in the first four years since he joined, after hitting only .260 in the four years prior to his arrival. In 1996, they hit 209 home runs, the second highest total in Sox history.

•  Jim was selected as a coach for the 1999 All-Star Game, held at Fenway Park. He participated in the celebrity hitting contest, and delighted the crowd by knocking several balls off the Wall and several more over it, as he led his team to victory.

•  On July 26, 2009, Jim Rice was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame. He is only the fourth Hall-of-Famer, joining Ted Williams, Carl Yastrzemski, and Bobby Doerr, to have played his entire career for the Red Sox. Two days after his Hall of Fame induction, Rice's uniform #14 was retired by the Red Sox.

I met Jim Rice at Fenway Park in 2005.