Ben Rice is having a strong April for the New York Yankees. The Dartmouth graduate is establishing himself in Major League Baseball and recently faced the Toronto Blue Jays in a weekend series.
Rice entered the series with a .288 batting average, including three doubles, a triple, and six home runs across his first 21 games. He had also drawn 12 walks. His six home runs ranked 18th in MLB at the time, and he was 91st in RBI.
Heading into Sunday's game against the Blue Jays, Ben Rice was batting .282 with four doubles, a triple, six home runs, and 12 walks through 22 games. His home run total ranked 23rd in MLB, while his RBI ranked 106th.
Player prop bets were offered for Ben Rice during the series. On Sunday, odds were available for 0.5 hits (Over odds: -139), 0.5 home runs (Over odds: +425), 0.5 RBI (Over odds: +225), 0.5 runs (Over odds: +105), 0.5 total bases (Over odds: -143), and 0.5 stolen bases (Over odds: +950). These odds were courtesy of BetMGM Sportsbook.
Looking at pitching matchups, Ben Rice has limited career history against the starters he faced. He is 0-for-5 over his career versus Jose Orlando Berrios and 0-for-2 against Kevin Gausman.
Data shows Rice has notched a base hit in over 70% of his games this season. He has also recorded multiple hits in several contests. He has gone deep in over a quarter of his games, connecting for a home run in a small percentage of his plate appearances. He has scored a run in over half of his games and driven in at least one run in over 40% of his games this year, including multiple RBI games.
Rice's path to the Yankees is noteworthy because of his Ivy League background. He joins reliever Jake Cousins, a Penn graduate, as Ivy Leaguers on the Yankees roster. The presence of players like Rice and Cousins, along with Yankees bench coach Brad Ausmus, another Dartmouth alumnus, reflects an evolving perception in baseball.
While historically some in baseball viewed players from the Ivy League skeptically, that view has shifted. The sport now includes many executives and players with Ivy League degrees. The competitiveness of Ivy League athletics has also increased.
Ben Rice stands out not just for his play but also for his embrace of the clubhouse culture. He learned Spanish, which helped him connect with teammates from the Dominican Republic and other Spanish-speaking countries in the minor league system. His fluency has earned him the nickname "Benito Arroz."
Rice has put his Spanish skills to use, even during games, interacting with opponents. He is focused on performing on the field, where he has improved his batting average significantly from last season. Only Aaron Judge and Jazz Chisholm had hit more home runs than Rice on the Yankees entering the recent series.
Despite his Ivy League education, Rice feels integrated into the team. "We all get along here," Rice said. "We're like family."
