Biography
Benjamin Kimball Rice (born February 22, 1999) is an American professional baseball first baseman for the New York Yankees of Major League Baseball (MLB). Rice played college baseball for Dartmouth College and was selected by the Yankees in the 12th round of the 2021 MLB draft. He made his MLB debut in 2024.
Early life
Rice grew up in Cohasset, Massachusetts. He began playing hockey at a young age before pursuing baseball. He rooted for the New York Yankees of Major League Baseball (MLB), despite most of his friends supporting their rivals, the Boston Red Sox; his favorite player was Derek Jeter. Rice speaks Spanish, having learned it since middle school.
Career
Amateur career
Rice attended Noble and Greenough School in Dedham, Massachusetts, and Dartmouth College, where he played college baseball for the Dartmouth Big Green. He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in psychology from Dartmouth. The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in decreased playing opportunities, but Rice helped organize scrimmages among Ivy League baseball players in 2020 to offset this. In 2021, he played collegiate summer baseball with the Cotuit Kettleers of the Cape Cod Baseball League.
Minor leagues
The Yankees selected Rice in the 12th round, with the 363rd overall selection, of the 2021 MLB draft. Rice spent his first professional season with the rookie–level Florida Complex League Yankees and Single–A Tampa Tarpons, hitting .197 in 23 combined games.
Rice spent the 2022 campaign back with Tampa, playing in 68 games and hitting .267/.368/.442 with nine home runs and 36 runs batted in (RBIs). He started the 2023 with Tampa before being promoted to the High–A Hudson Valley Renegades and Double–A Somerset Patriots during the season. In 73 games split between the three affiliates, Rice accumulated a .324/.434/.615 slash line with 20 home runs, 68 RBIs, and 11 stolen bases.
Rice began the 2024 season with Somerset. He was promoted to the Triple–A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders on June 5, for whom he batted .294/.428/.661 in 109 at bats.
Major leagues
On June 18, 2024, the Yankees promoted Rice to the major leagues for the first time. He made his debut that day against the Baltimore Orioles. He recorded his first major league hit in the third inning with a single to right field. On July 6, in a game against the Boston Red Sox, Rice became the first rookie in Yankees history to hit three home runs in one game; his seven RBIs also matched Lou Gehrig's record for a Yankee rookie.
Rice made the Yankees' Opening Day roster for the 2025 season.
Personal life
Rice's father, Dan, played college baseball as a pitcher for Brown University.