From Dartmouth to Cleanup Hitter: Ben Rice's Quiet Takeover of the Yankees Lineup
Ben Rice is doing something remarkable, and most of baseball didn't see it coming. The 27-year-old catcher from Dartmouth has quietly climbed from complete obscurity to become one of the most important pieces in the Yankees' World Series contention, and he's only two full seasons into his major league career. Through 11 games this season, Rice is hitting .324 with three home runs, 11 RBIs, and 11 walks as New York's primary cleanup hitter. He's not just performing: he's leading the league in on-base percentage and slugging percentage, plus modern metrics like xwOBA and hard-hit percentage.
The Long Road to the Majors
Will Warren, a Yankees pitcher drafted just four rounds ahead of Rice back in 2021, watched his former teammate terrorize pitchers at every minor league level without anyone really noticing. Rice didn't reach the majors until June 2024, but once he arrived, it was clear he belonged. As a rookie, he crushed three home runs on the Fourth of July at Yankee Stadium against the Boston Red Sox, his hometown team. Growing up in Cohasset, Massachusetts, just 20 miles from Fenway Park, Rice was actually a Yankees fan, which makes his success in pinstripes even sweeter.
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In 2025, Rice's first full major league season, he launched 26 home runs with an .836 OPS and a 133 wRC+ over 138 games. By the time the All-Star break rolled around, he'd seized the everyday first baseman role and didn't let go, posting 12 home runs and an .894 OPS in the second half. Yankees hitting coach James Rowson knew exactly what was happening. "You're starting to see what we saw last year where some of the balls he was hitting hard weren't falling," Rowson said. "This year, he's getting those hits."
Rice managed the only hit Thursday as the Yankees' offense completely stalled in a second straight loss to the Athletics. But even in the struggle, he's proving he's not a one-year fluke. He knows he belongs now. And after one more year in the league, so does everyone else.
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