Happy Birthday to the late and great Hall of Famer, Sam Rice. Playing nineteen of his twenty-year career with the Washington Senators. Originally debuting as a Relief Pitcher, he transitioned into an everyday player, primarily playing Right Field. 

Career Statistics/Accolades (1915-1934):

.322 BA 2,987 HITS 34 HR 1,077 RBI 1,514 RUNS .374 OBP

  • 1924 World Series Champion

As a Hitter

As a hitter, Rice was your prototype for batting either leadoff or in the top of the lineup. As a Left Handed Hitter, he had the three key elements, great plate discipline, great contact, and great baserunning. Career-wise, Rice Walked 708 times while only striking out 275 times. Also, Rice batted .300 or higher thirteen times, as well as averaging 201 Hits a year over his entire career. Rice wasn’t just a singles hitter; not only did Rice average 34 doubles a year, but he also had ten consecutive years of hitting triples in the double digits. In terms of running the bases well, he did just that, leading the league with 63 stolen bases in 1920 and averaging 102 runs scored a year over his entire career. 

As a Fielder

Defensively, he spent 2,270 Games and 19,640 Innings in the Outfield, the majority in Right Field. Spending 1,649 games in Right Field, his lifetime .968 Fielding Percentage was .08 above the league average among Right Fielders. His 2,864 Putouts rank 28th all-time; however, his 192 Assists are 6th all-time, and his 55 Double Plays are 4th all-time among Right Fielders. 

As a Pitcher

Not much to report in the short time that Rice was a Pitcher, during the first two years of his career. Throughout 9 Appearances and 3 Starts, Rice was: 1-1 W-L, 2.52 ERA 1.271 WHIP throughout 39.1 Innings Pitched.

Best Years

Worthy of note his peak was took place when Rice was 34-36. Then in 1930, at the age of 40, his final season, in which he was playing every day, he had career highs in Runs Scored and On Base Percentage.

1924: .334 BA 216 HITS 1 HR 76 RBI 106 RUNS .382 OBP (154 Games)

1925: .350 BA 227 HITS 1 HR 87 RBI 111 RUNS .388 OBP (152 Games)

1926: .337 BA 216 HITS 3 HR 75 RBI 98 RUNS .380 OBP (152 Games)

1930: .349 BA 207 HITS 1 HR 73 RBI 121 RUNS .407 OBP (147 Games)

Having ten seasons of batting .320 or higher, as well as ten seasons of Triples in the double digits after his age 29 season, is insane.

Legacy

Had it not been until his age 27 season for him to be an everyday player and had he made his debut well before the age 25, considering he was only 13 shy of the 3,000 Hit milestone, perhaps he could’ve made a push at 4,000. As he ranks 14th all-time in Triples with 184, he’d likely be in the top-5 had he played more years early on. It took until 1963, but Rice would have his rightful day in Cooperstown, thanks to the Veterans Committee. A combination of his team no longer existing and playing so long ago, people don’t even know who Sam Rice is. Sam Rice is and should be remembered as one of the many great Hall of Fame leadoff hitters and Right Fielders in baseball history.

References:

  1. Sam Rice via Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sam_Rice#
  2. Sam Rice Career Statistics via Baseball-Reference: https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/r/ricesa01.shtml