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dennisfirst off ... i never saw sam rice play, but by looking at his stats, he had an odd career to say the least.
1. he became a regular at a late age.most of his stats were put up after the age of 29. this says it all,if he had talent he would play regularly at a young age.
2. he did not get any MVP votes when his team won the pennant,not any. the only time he got any votes was 1926 and he finished 4th(a down year for the A.L.).
3. he was elected to the hall of fame 30 years after his career was over.
4. there were no all star games in his time so there is no way to tell if he was an all star.
5. he was a slap hitter probably similiar to matty alou.
this would tell me he was not a great player by any strectch of the imagination...but a good player.
I did see jim rice play and he was a power hitter who was feared thru out his career....an all star every year,an mvp vote getter with regularity and no one would rather have sam on their team over jim rice?