Ben Rice knew he acquired this one.
That image on the high of this text? That’s Rice watching his residence run fly out of the ballpark on Wednesday evening because the New York Yankees took on the Tampa Bay Rays.
What Rice in all probability didn’t know is that this explicit residence run put him in an unique membership within the historical past of the Yankees.
Numerous hitters have hit quite a lot of residence runs in pinstripes. Solely Aaron Choose has solely finished earlier than what Rice achieved with this swing.
Ben Rice Uncommon Historical past
Rice’s homer on Wednesday was his fortieth of the 12 months, which is a milestone by itself.
However it was additionally particular — as a result of the Yankees drafted Rice.
Just one participant within the historical past of the franchise that the Yanks really drafted has then hit 40 residence runs in a season: That might be Choose, who has finished it 4 instances.
Rice joins that record, shared by MLB Community’s Sarah Langs:
Yankees Draft picks to hit 40+ residence runs in a season:
2026 Ben Rice
Aaron Choose 4x— Sarah Langs (@SlangsOnSports) September 23, 2026
There are two parts to this.
The primary is that the draft didn’t exist for the early eras of the Yankees, when the likes of Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Joe DiMaggio, Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris have been doing their factor.
However the second is that for therefore lengthy, one of the best Yankees sluggers have come aboard from different groups.
Take this record, with a bunch of 40-homer hitters however most having begun their careers elsewhere:
Ben Rice is simply the sixth Yankees hitter since 2000 with a 40 residence run season!
An unimaginable season for the lefty slugger 🍚 pic.twitter.com/YaZnfuOQpH
— Simply Baseball (@JustBB_Media) September 23, 2026
Rice, although, has risen via the Yankees’ system and exceeded all expectations.
Ben Rice Draft Standing
Rice went to Dartmouth, not referred to as a baseball powerhouse, and he was a Twelfth-round choose within the 2021 MLB Draft, having missed out on quite a lot of faculty baseball due to the COVID-19 pandemic and ending up with only one homer in his faculty profession.
“Even when he began producing within the minor leagues, with a 20-homer season throughout three ranges in 2023, he was outdated for the degrees he performed at and didn’t have a place — he was a catcher with no shot to remain there,” prospect analyst Keith Legislation wrote earlier in September. “His swing was extraordinarily uphill, prioritizing energy over every thing else, and in his first stint within the majors in 2024, pitchers exploited that swing path, resulting in his first struggles in professional ball.”
Rice merely saved getting higher, although.
“Rice went out that offseason and labored on his swing and his physique, gaining sufficient power to enhance his bat pace and, naturally, his contact high quality,” Legislation writes. “It wasn’t his first rodeo — he’d modified his stance and swing whereas in faculty — however this transformation was extra dramatic, with a way more open setup and a stride that didn’t shut himself off, serving to him roll over to the proper aspect much less usually and, no less than in 2025, pull the ball within the air extra. The change additionally made him much less weak on stuff middle-in; in 2024, he whiffed on 25 p.c of pitches on the inside third, then minimize that to 11.3 p.c in 2025 and 11.9 p.c to this point this 12 months. He’s nonetheless not a catcher, however he’s a top-10 bat within the majors this 12 months.”
Now, Rice has 40 residence runs, an unimaginable accomplishment.
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