/ AP file

Jim Rice was dominant from 1975, when he was the runner-up to teammate Fred Lynn in the AL rookie of the year voting, until 1986, when he led the league in 12 offensive categories, including runs, homers, RBIs and slugging percentage.

“You can go back before the steroids, you can go back to Nautilus equipment, weights, more teams, smaller ballparks. There’s a lot of things you can go back into,” Rice said. The question is, “What kind of hitter was I? Did I do things for the team or more as an individual.

“I could have been more selfish, but when I played it was a team thing,” he said. “If you tell a young guy now, you’ve got to hit 500 home runs to get to the Hall of Fame, he’d have to decide if he wants to do that.”

An eight-time All-Star and three-time home run champion, Rice was the AL MVP in 1978, when he also led the league in hits, RBIs, slugging percentage and triples. He had 406 total bases, which at the time was surpassed just 15 times in baseball history.

“He was one of the most feared hitters in the game of baseball in that stretch,” Remy said. “He’d hit the big homer, but you’d look in the box score and he’d have three other hits.”

Rice also may have delayed his induction by keeping reporters at arm’s length — or worse. Sometimes snarling and usually unapproachable, he alienated many of the electors; however, several of the Boston beat reporters who covered Rice most closely said they have voted for him each year since he became eligible in 1995.

“They didn’t have any trouble out of me. The trouble came when you wanted to talk about the team,” Rice said. “That was my trouble: Do not come to the ballpark to find out all the negative stuff. I didn’t have any trouble per se with the media, I had trouble because I didn’t give them scoops.

“The question is, do you want a guy that could play, or do you want a guy that can give you stories?”

In any case, Rice has mellowed since his playing days. In a telephone interview this week he was gracious and eager to help.

Until, that is, it was mentioned that as a postgame commentator Red Sox TV broadcasts he is member of the media he once seemed to regard with disdain.

“No, I’m not,” he said quickly, but not especially sharply. “We don’t go in the clubhouse. I don’t have a badge to go in the clubhouse. I’m not the media.”

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