'It's gonna be a lot of joy' for Rice at induction
Reporter shares thrill of hero's election to Hall of Fame
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Better late than never Jan 12: Jim Rice talks about finally being elected into the baseball Hall Of Fame after so many years on the ballot. NBC Sports |
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NEW YORK - “Pitchers pay the price, when they face Jim Rice.”
The line, featured on my Jim Rice metal trash can circa the 1980s that still sits in my apartment, sums up why the left-fielder was finally elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame on Monday on his last try, after 15 years of waiting.
“I’m just glad it’s over with," Rice said Monday. "And I’m here.”
My thoughts exactly.
My father and I were huge Rice fans and always held out hope that he would make it into the Hall of Fame. When I was a kid, years before he passed away, my dad promised that if Rice ever got in, then we had to be there. So I was there Tuesday at the Waldorf-Astoria when he and Rickey Henderson donned their Hall of Fame uniforms and took questions from the media.
Here’s some of his more interesting quotes:
Rice said he hasn’t talked to the Red Sox about retiring his number: “They’re probably going to do it anyway. But I haven’t talked to them. Everything is in their hands.” Rice turned down a Lou Gorman (former Red Sox GM) offer for not a Jim Rice Day, but a joint Bob Stanley/Jim Rice day back in 1989.
About the steroid issue, Rice scoots his chair closer to Henderson and puts his arm around him: “Two players that have never been on steroids.”
If he really broke his bat on a check swing: “Twice.” But then says something pretty striking, “I’ve never lifted weights a day in my life.” He points to genetics as a reason for his strength: “My dad was big. My dad was a muscular guy. His father was big.”
Who he has heard from over the past 24 hours: Quite a few former teammates and friends, including former managers Don Zimmer and Joe Morgan, Jesse Barfield, Cecil Cooper, Dave Winfield, and others such as former Patriot Andrea Tippett and former Celtic Jo Jo White.
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Favorite thing to do in a ballgame? “Holding a guy to a single.”
What he’s expecting for the induction ceremony in July? “It’s gonna be a lot of joy.”
Is he content? “Very.”
If he was content before being elected to the Hall: “Yeah. You know why? Because I was alive. My wife was alive, my kids were alive and there was nothing wrong with yesterday.”
Greatest thrill? Winning the MVP in 1978.
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Talking about his new family: “I’m in an elite category of guys that have played the game of baseball. And the rest of those guys in the Hall of Fame make me look sick. (Laughing) They got some big numbers.”
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