Cal Ripken, Tony Gwynn, Jim Rice and Paul Molitor. During the ’80s, no pitcher in Major League Baseball wanted to face any of these hitters in a tight situation.
Odds were that they would get a hit, drive in a few runs and put their team in a position to win.
They were among the most feared hitters of their era; still Rice has yet to be enshrined by the National Baseball Hall of Fame.
If anything is fair in this world, this will all change in January when the hall of fame announces its 2008 inductees.
Unlike the aforementioned players, Rice never achieved one of baseball’s "magic numbers." Rice never had 3,000 hits, 500 homeruns or .300 career batting average. He does, however, hold a very formidable resume.
During his 16 years of major league service (1974-1989), all with the Boston Red Sox, Rice had 2,452 hits, 382 home runs, 1451 RBIs, a .298 career batting average, won the 1978 MVP award, won two Silver Slugger Awards, made eight All-Star game appearances and led his team to two World Series.
He is also the only player in MLB history to record 200 hits and 39 or more home runs in three consecutive seasons (’77-’79).
Still, he has not received the elite status that his performance deserves.
Rice has finished in the top five on the hall of fame ballot since 2001, coming closest in 2006 where he earned 64.8 percent of the necessary 75 percent.
2008 will mark his 14th appearance on the Baseball Writers Association of America Hall of Fame ballot. With only 15 opportunities to be voted in by the BWAA, Rice will have only one remaining eligible season should he somehow not make it in the coming year.
In an era when players are being questioned about chemically enhancing their performance and scandalous behavior off the field, a player like Rice would be a commodity to the game and its sacred history.
Although he was never considered a friend of the media, Rice had also never been considered a cheater of any sort or been involved in any major off-the-field conflicts.
Since his retirement, he has remained a contributor to the Red Sox organization and its charities including the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and MLB’s Reviving Baseball in Inner Cities program.
It is no surprise that players like Ripken, Gwynn, Molitor and Boggs got in on their first year of eligibility, but it’s these types of players who have kept Rice from getting voted in over the past 14 years.
Since 2008’s ballot lacks a sure-fire first timer, this may be his best bet.
With the weak list of new eligible hall of fame candidates this year, announced Monday, there is no legitimate reason why Rice should not become embossed in baseball’s hallowed halls.
