Player #74B: Edgar C. "Sam" Rice. Outfielder for the Washington Senators in 1915-1933. 2,987 hits and 34 home runs in 20 MLB seasons. 1924 World Series champion. 1920 AL stolen base leader. He was inducted into the MLB Hall of Fame in 1963. Led the Senators to three AL pennants (1924,1925, and 1933). Best known for controversial "over the fence" catch in the 1925 World Series. He had many excellent seasons, but one of his best was 1930 as he posted a .407 OBP with 121 runs scored in 669 plate appearances. He had 63 stolen bases in 1920. He last played in 1934 with the Cleveland Indians. His early life was marred by tragedy when his wife, two daughters, parents, and two sisters were all killed by a tornado in Indiana.
Here is Deveaux's account of Rice's development beginning in 1916: The Senators' offence took another step backwards in 1916, putting the Nats in that regard pretty much on a par with the pathetic A's at the bottom of the league. In a case not unlike Ruth's, the Nats were taking notice of the hitting skills of pitcher Sam Rice. Washington third baseman Edie Foster, for one, was convinced that Rice, with his flat stroke, should give hitting a try. Rice himself became convinced he should when pitcher George "Hooks" Dauss of the Tigers, a notoriously weak hitter, banged a game-winning triple off him.
Given some time in the outfield, Sam Rice hit .299 in nearly 200 at-bats and was on his way to his Hall of Fame induction in 1963. A model of consistency over 19 years with the Senators, Rice would never hit below .294. (He played one final year with the Indians in 1934 and hit .293 at age 44.) He was the classic contact-type hitter who practically never struck out; he did so only 275 times in 20 years. He had no power but hustled enough to hit a good number of doubles and triples; his career high in homers was six, and his life-time total 34. Of Sam Rice's 33 round trippers as a Senator, not one in 19 years was hit over the fence at home, testimony to National Park's disheartening dimensions. (The Washington Senators by Tom Deveaux.)
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