Player #74C: 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, mother, and two sisters were all killed by a tornado in Indiana.
Back to Carroll for Part 2: . . . On July 20, the day before the (1917) Senators bottomed out, the "great national lottery" was begun. Blind-folded Secretary of War, Newton Baker drew the first number, 258, from a glass jar. The draft was underway. And although enthusiasm regarding the war swept the United States as a whole, baseball, its product threatened, would eventually attempt -- unsuccessfully -- to battle for the exemption of its players.
For now, they carried on. The Senators rallied to finish with a 74-79 record, good for fifth place and well behind the runaway train that was the Chicago White Sox. Rice had immediately proven his value as an everyday player. He appeared in all of the Senators' games, every one of them in right field, and his .302 batting average made him the only Washington player to top the .300 mark. He also stole thirty-five bases.
"The case of Sam rice is one of the most interesting of the baseball season," a newspaper writer noted. "Rice is a natural hitter and as he is still a youngster there seems no reason, if his baseball career is not interrupted, why he should not in another year rank with the consistent .300 batters. His is but another case of a pitcher who has become a good fielder.
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