Somewhere along the way, Jim Rice set his mind to culminating his career with an induction to the Baseball Hall of Fame. Perhaps it was a career goal from the time he chose his sport of choice, following his father’s advice and refusing a football scholarship at Nebraska University to roll the dice in the professional baseball draft. Maybe it was a rookie season when he teamed with Fred Lynn to form the best rookie outfield tandem in all of baseball history. Or maybe it was when he started putting up Hall of Fame numbers in 1977, unleashing a 10-year stretch in which he led the American League in hits, total bases and RBIs.

Happy to be here

Regardless, Jim Rice didn’t step up to the podium yesterday in Cooperstown and deliver an acceptance speech fitting of a man who couldn’t care less about getting inducted. He shared a feeling of overwhelming relief, genuine pride, and sincere humility. He shared the stage with Hank Aaron, Willie Mays, Carl Yastrzemski, Sandy Koufax, Frank Robinson, and 46 other living Hall of Famers. He shared the day with Rickey Henderson. All the while, he portrayed a certain vulnerability that we had never seen before from Rice. He did care about the Hall of Fame — more than any of us knew. Yes, he was upset each and every year he didn’t make it, despite his best efforts to convince us otherwise. And now all of those feelings are water under the bridge. He’s just happy to be recognized as a member of the top one percent of baseball players.

“I am a husband called Rice,” Rice said yesterday. “I am a father called Dad. I am a brother called Ed. I am a grandfather called Papa. I am a friend that doesn’t call … Finally, and I do mean finally, I am Jim Rice called a baseball Hall of Famer.”

When you think about it, Rice had all the reason in the world to feel resentment toward the Hall of Fame selection process. For 15 years in a row, he waited for the baseball writers to cast their ballots. He waited for the congratulatory call for hours and hours, and he always received word of the rejection. To give you an idea of how he felt each year, let’s review his comments from January of 2008 — the final year he received his rejection notice.

“Today’s results are obviously a disappointment,” Rice said in a statement issued by the Red Sox. “I believe my accomplishments speak for themselves, and a majority of the voters seem to agree. It is tough to come this close, but I remain hopeful for the 2009 results. I appreciate all the kind words from so many players, including Rich Gossage, and I congratulate Goose on his well-deserved election today.”

Rice had to issue a similar statement 14 times. For the last decade and a half, he was the guy who could easily earn induction to the Hall of Very Good, just not the Hall of Fame. He was the guy you went to for a quote about getting close without the cigar. But Rice showed no resentment yesterday. He did not reflect on the journey, he spoke of the destination.

“Then after 15 years, you get a phone call that you thought you’d never get. Your aspiration’s realized. Your tears overflow. Because you know now that the highest honor of your career means so much more than you ever thought it would mean before. Because what it feels like most is being welcomed at home plate and after hitting a walk-off home run. You find yourself repeating the same phrases over and over: ‘We made it, we made it. We made it.’”

Henderson’s Humble?

Three funny stories from Rickey Henderson’s induction speech:

1. When Henderson was a freshman in high school, his guidance counselor wanted him to play baseball instead of football. So she bribed him by saying if he played baseball, she’d pay Rickey a quarter each time he had a hit, run, or stolen base. After 10 games, Rickey had 30 hits, 25 runs, and 33 stolen bases.

2. When Henderson was a kid in Oakland, he used to hang out in the players’ parking lot after Oakland A’s games. After one game, he followed Reggie Jackson to his car and asked him for an autograph. Instead of giving Henderson his autograph, Jackson handed Henderson a pen with his name on it. Mr. October sat about 10 feet behind Henderson as he told that story.

3. Rickey ended his speech by saying he always idolized Muhammad Ali for his brash declarations, which included, “I am the greatest.” Then Rickey teased his legion of fans by ending his speech by saying, “(The greatest) is something I always wanted to be. And now that the Association has voted me into the Baseball Hall of Fame, my journey as a player is complete. I am now in the class of the greatest players of all time. And at this moment, I am … very, very humble. Thank you.”

6 Comments for “A new side of Rice?”

1. NC Says:
   July 27th, 2009 at 12:54 pm

   This would have been so much better if you were a Red Sox fan. Your indifference towards baseball and the Red Sox is so obvious throughout the article. You even found a way to mention other sports besides baseball 3 times (football twice and boxing once) in the column. What a joke!

2. Flossbagger Says:
   July 27th, 2009 at 4:24 pm

   i thought the post was superb. it was nice to see two deserving players rewarded for their achievements, and the henderson comments/ stories are always entertaining. I am envious of the Cooperstown trip Dan and congratulate you for representing EEI so well.

3. NC Says:
   July 28th, 2009 at 11:06 am

   I’m with you, Floss. I was being sarcastic. I missed the fun on Friday so I was just riffing on some of the crazy comments from over there.

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