Jim Rice's Defining Moment: August 7, 1982

It was 27 years ago today that Jim Rice ran into the stands at Fenway Park, grabbed a 4 year old boy who had been hit in the head by a sharply hit foul ball. Blood was gushing from the boy's head. Rice grabbed him and took the boy, John Keane, through the dugout to an ambulance which rushed him to the hospital.

Rice's instinct helped save Keane's life, but it will not be found in Rice's statistics nor will it be on his plaque at Cooperstown. In all the hoopla over whether or not Rice would make it into The Hall; are his numbers good enough, did he play long enough, etc.; this defining moment in Jim Rice's career should not ever be forgotten, especially in this year, the year that he was finally inducted into the MLB Hall of Fame.

The full story can be read on line from the Providence Journal.

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Jim Rice HOF Speech - Video

Jim Rice speaks about being inducted into the baseball Hall of Fame. Watch below:

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Red Sox Set To Retire Rice's 14

Jim Rice's number 14 will be retired on Tuesday night in a pregame ceremony before the Red Sox take on the A's. Red Sox owner John Henry made this announcement:

"As a fan of the game and a steward of this great franchise, it is an honor to be a part of the Red Sox during this special moment in the team's history. On behalf of our partners and the entire organization, we want to congratulate Jim Rice on his upcoming induction into the National Baseball Hall of Fame and finally taking his rightful place among the greatest players in the game.

The retirement of his number will be a fitting way to honor one of the most dominant hitters to ever wear a Red Sox uniform."

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Jim Rice Visits Cooperstown

This video gives you a little insight into what Jim Rice might say during the induction ceremony.

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Opening Day Pre-Game Videos

Thanks to Sox and Dawgs for posting a couple of great Opening Day pre-game ceremonies, courtesy of NESN.

Videos include Ted Kennedy tossing out the first pitch to Jim Rice, and player introductions with the players entering the field after passing through the fans in the stands.

Here's another look from Politico:

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Jim Rice Talks About Getting the Nod - Video

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BREAKING NEWS: RICE IS IN!

Jim Rice got his ticket to Cooperstown!

At 2pm Eastern time it became official. Jim Rice is a hall-of-famer.

Fenway West passes on our congratulations to #14. Well deserved.

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Published Votes Are Bad News For Rice

Over at Home Run Derby they have calculated the votes for all baseball writers that have published their picks for the Hall of Fame. While the list does not include everyone it does show how some of the voting is going. Among the reporters that published their votes Jim Rice was on 64.5% of them, he needs to be on 75% to get into the Hall. It will be tough for Rice to make up the difference in the remaining votes but he still has a chance.

UPDATE: Baseball Think Factory has Rice receiving a higher percentage of published votes (82%) when they count partial ballots.

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Rice's Last Stand

As the baseball writers vote for their Hall of Fame picks, Jim Rice waits to see if he will finally get in. This week there has been no shortage of stories for and against Jim Rice gaining admittance into the Hall. Here are a few of the highlights:

Jerry Crasnick from ESPN: History is clearly in his favor. Last year Rice was named on 72.2 percent of the ballots, to fall 16 votes short of induction. Of the 20 players who previously received between 70 and 75 percent of the vote, all 20 eventually made it into the Hall through the writers vote or the Veterans Committee.

Dan McGrath of the Chicago Tribune: ...makes him a first-ballot Hall of Famer on this ballot. Of course, I felt that way about Jim Rice 15 years ago, and he's still trying to get in. It might happen for him in his final year on the writers' ballot; Rice got 72.2 percent last year, with 75 percent required. Now 55, Rice hasn't done anything recently to enhance his stature as the best right-handed hitter of his era, but that was enough for me in 1994, and it still is.

Tracy Ringolsby of the Rocky Mountain News: Rice was a very good player, but very good isn’t Hall of Fame worthy. The Hall of Fame is for the elite of the elite of the elite....but the idea he was among the most intimidating hitters of his era is misguided. He was issued only 77 intentional walks in his career, never more than 10 in a season. He struck out more than twice as many times as he walked (1,423to 670) and is sixth all time with 315 grounded into double plays.

If you are a Red Sox fan you most likely believe that Rice should be in the Hall and you may get your wish in the near future. To see the results of the voting you can tune in to live coverage of the Hall of Fame's announcement on Jan. 12 on baseballhall.org.

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Help Jim Rice Get into the Hall - Sign the Petition

As a kid growing up I had a Stop & Shop Jim Rice poster on my wall. He was the most feared hitter in the American League in his prime. This year is his last chance to get into the Hall of Fame on the writer's ballot, you can send a message to baseball writers by signing a petition on Sawxheads.com. Please take a minute and support a well deserving player.

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Maybe Jim Rice Sould Be Batting Coach

On his blog ask14.com Jim Rice noticed a problem with Jacoby's swing and the adjustment he has made. Since that point Ellsbury has hit 2 homers in 2 games.

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Why Jason Bay Will Thrive at Boston

It's his destiny.

From redsox.com:

A couple of things he may not have had time to pack came from his childhood in British Columbia, Canada, where his father, Dave Bay, was a huge Red Sox fan.

"For whatever reason, my dad was a diehard Red Sox fan," Bay said. "I had a onesie when I was however old, and it was a Red Sox onesie and I still have it. I grew up my entire life with two big posters -- one of Jim Rice and the other of Carl Yastrzemski with the 'New England -- I Love You' saying under it. They are still in my parents' basement."

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Recalling the 78 Sox

Sports Illustrated has been running an SI Vault series that goes back in the archives and reminds us of some key times in sports history. They are currently running a May 1, 1978 article by Peter Gammons titled, "These are the Boston Manglers - The Red Sox have been crushing the ball and Jim Rice and Butch Hobson are the Main Marauders."

The article will bring you back 30 years to one of my favorite all-time Sox teams.

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Jim Rice Enters The Blogosphere

Jim Rice did not make the Hall this year but he now has his own blog called "ask 14" in association with Sullivan Tire. Rice will field a question from readers each day and give his insight on the Sox or baseball in general. Each person who submits a question will be entered into a $200 drawing from Sullivan Tire. Rice will continue to work with NESN and will appear in a Sullivan Tire commercial this year.

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Jim Rice does not make Hall of Fame

Breaking News: Goose is in....Rice is not. Jim Rice had 72% of the vote but not enough to get in.

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Jim Rice Learns His Fate Tomorrow

Tuesday is the day for the announcement of new Hall of Fame inductees. Here's what Rice has said about the process: "Things are not like they used to be; the players are not the same. You have to put guys in different categories and ask, 'What were those guys considered during their time? 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. 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. 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."

It should be a close vote, maybe the 14th time will be a charm.

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Jim Rice's Hall Chances

Shaughnessy of the Boston Globe thinks this is the year.

Rob Neyer of ESPN does not.

I think he is a borderline H.O.F. player but the release of the Mitchell Report has helped his chances. Most sports reporters outside of the Hub have been hesitant to vote for him so I tend to agree with Rob Neyer that he will not get in even though it would be great if he did. I posted earlier on Rice's numbers.

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Is It Finally Rice's Turn?

This will be Jim Rice's 14th Hall of Fame ballot vote. So far he is 0-13 and if he loses the next two times he will be removed and his only chance is with the Veteran's Committee. As a kid growing up I had the Jim Rice Stop & Shop poster on my wall. He was the power hitter of the Red Sox. If you look at his numbers compared to the power numbers of today's hitters they don't look that great but he hit 46 HR's in 1978, before the steroid era. He was the A.L. MVP in 1978 and he is the only player to go three consecutive years with 35 HR's and 200 hits. He is a long shot to get into the Hall but with a relatively weak class this year he may get in.

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