Jim Rice
Year Inducted: 2009
A phenomenal rookie season by Jim Rice in which he finished as the runner-up for the Rookie of the Year and third in the MVP race was overshadowed by his teammate, Fred Lynn, who captured both awards. That takes nothing away from Rice, who started his career strong and finished stronger than the star teammate he shared an outfield with.
Rice hit .298 with a .854 OPS and 382 home runs over a 16-year career spent entirely with the Red Sox.
The eight-time All-Star had his best season in 1978 when he won the MVP. Rice hit .315 that season while leading the league with 213 hits, 15 triples, 46 home runs, 139 RBI, .600 SLG, and a .970 OPS.
Rice led the league in home runs three times during his career and twice in slugging and RBI.
While his limited time in the postseason didn’t produce the same type of staggering numbers, Rice did crank a pair of home runs in the 1986 ALCS to help the Red Sox advance in a seven-game series over the California Angels. He went on to hit .333 in the World Series, which Boston lost to the New York Mets.
Rice is fourth in franchise history with 2089 games played and seventh among position players with 50.8 fWAR.
The Red Sox retired Rice’s No. 14 at Fenway Park in 2009 following his Hall of Fame induction.