LAKELAND, Fla. — Ben Rice, Ivy Leaguer from tiny, tony Cohasset, Mass., is about the most unlikely big leaguer, never mind the primary replacement for the Yankees’ hulking, Hall of Fame-bound designated hitter Giancarlo Stanton.
Rice, a Dartmouth man from a comfortable suburb smart enough to understand probabilities, never stopped working on his craft long enough to consider the true odds, maybe until I asked.
“You look back on it now, it’s cool … It’s definitely an unorthodox route,” Rice said with a smile.
He was speaking Friday, a couple of hours before he hit a baseball Stanton style, 113.8 mph according to Baseball Savant. Rice’s two extra-base hits at the Tigers’ old-school Joker Marchant Stadium only reaffirmed the Yankees’ certain call for him to make the storied franchise as a starting player for the first time at age 26.