Baseball

Slugger Rice takes 1 more shot at Hall of Fame

Red Sox star says he won't be bitter if he fails in his final try at induction

/ AP file

Last year, Jim Rice was named on 72.2 percent of the Hall of Fame ballots but was was 16 votes shy of the 75 percent needed.

“Goose and I spent some time together” before last year’s announcement, Rice said. “He said, ’Hey, man, I think we’re going in together.’ I said, ’Hey, just wait until it happens.’ That’s the only thing you can do.”

He could have posted higher power numbers if he were more selfish and had swung for the fences, he said. But Rice recalled that owner Tom Yawkey, another South Carolinian, emphasized the group ethic to his players.

“There were no individuals in the clubhouse because he came down and talked to all the ballplayers,” Rice said. “You are not stronger than the team.

“My job wasn’t to hit home runs. My job was to hit the ball from gap to gap with a man on first base to score the guy.”

The MVP in 1978 and an eight-time All-Star, Rice didn’t reach the postseason until 1986, when he hit .324 with 20 homers and 110 RBIs. But he managed just 31 homers the next three years and retired after an injury-shortened 1989 season, when he hit .234 with three homers and 28 RBIs in 56 games.

Now, 20 years later and 15 years after he became eligible for the Hall of Fame, he awaits the final word.

“In” or “out.”

He’s hardly an emotional wreck.

“If I was in South Carolina (on Monday), I’d be playing golf,” he said. “I’d say, ’My wife is at home.’ I’d say, ’Call me. Here’s my number. Eighteen holes come first.’ “

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