Posted By:
Andy BaranI have to admit that I am a Huge Red Sox Fan, and Jim Rice (along with Yaz) was my favorite player as a kid, but I don't understand how he is not in the HOF. Besides being the most feared hitter in the American League and his MVP voting credentials, take a look at these facts:
From 1975 through 1986, Rice was the most dominant player in the American League. Period. He ranked first in the AL in games (1,766), first in at-bats (7,060), first in runs (1,098), first in hits (2,145), first in home runs (350), first in runs batted in (1,276), first in slugging percentage (.520), first in total bases (3,670), first in extra-base hits (752), first in go-ahead RBIs (325), first in multihit games (640), fourth in triples (73) -- so much for the notion that Rice was nothing but a plodder -- and fourth in batting average (.304). He also was first in outfield assists with 125.
If you look at the entire major leagues over that same 12-year period, Rice still ranked first in RBIs, hits, total bases, go-ahead RBIs and multihit games, second in slugging, runs and extra-base hits (to Mike Schmidt), third in homers (to Schmidt and Dave Kingman), and second in outfield assists (to Dave Winfield).
Enough Said. Hall of Famer.