Sam Rice

Sam Rice, Washington Senators, 1916

Rice played 19 of his 20 seasons with the Washington Senators. He appeared in only 62 total major league games in 1915 and 1916. He played 155 games in 1917, registering a .302 batting average in 656 plate appearances.[10] Rice was recalled up to the army in 1918.[11] He joined the 68th Coast Artillery Regiment and was stationed at Fort Terry in New York. He appeared with the Senators in a few games during two furloughs.[12] By September, his company was sent to France and they prepared for combat, but the men did not see any action before the signing of the Armistice of 11 November 1918.[13]

In 1919, Rice played in 141 games and hit .321, one of 13 seasons in which he hit at least .300. He hit .338 in 1920, recorded a league-leading and career-high 63 stolen bases and was caught stealing a league-high 30 times. In 1921, he hit 13 triples, the first of ten consecutive seasons in which he finished in double digits in that category. He collected a league-high 216 hits in 1924,[14] which culminated in Rice and the Senators winning the 1924 World Series in a dramatic 7 game series against the New York Giants.[15] Though not the league leader in 1925, Rice recorded a career-high 227 hits, 87 RBI, and a .350 batting average, career highs among his full seasons.

The most famous moment in Rice's career came on defense. In Game 3 of the 1925 World Series, the Senators were leading the Pittsburgh Pirates, 4–3. In the middle of the 8th inning, Rice was moved from center field to right field. With two out in the top of the inning,[16] Pirate catcher Earl Smith drove a ball to right-center field. Rice ran the ball down and appeared to catch it at the fence, robbing Smith of a home run that would have tied the game. After the catch, Rice toppled over the fence and into the stands, disappearing from sight. When Rice reappeared, he had the ball in his glove and the umpire called Smith out. The umpire's explanation was that as soon as the catch was made the play was over, so it did not matter where Rice ended up. His team lost the Series in seven games.

Controversy persisted over whether Rice had actually caught the ball and whether he had kept possession of it. Some Pittsburgh fans sent signed and notarized documents claiming that they saw a fan pick up the ball and put it back in Rice's glove. Rice himself would not tell, answering only, "The umpire said I caught it." Magazines offered to pay him for the story, but Rice turned them down, saying, "I don't need the money. The mystery is more fun." He would not even tell his wife or his daughter. The controversy became so great that Rice wrote a letter when he was selected to the Hall of Fame, to be opened upon his death.[17] After Rice's death, officials could not immediately locate the letter describing his World Series play. However, in an interview, his wife Mary said, "He did catch it. You don't have to worry about that anymore."[17] When the letter was located, its conclusion stated, "At no time did I lose possession of the ball."[18]

Leading the league in hits again in 1926, Rice finished fourth in the Most Valuable Player Award voting.[10] His batting average dipped to .297 in 1927, but he hit .328, .323 and .349 from, respectively, the 1928 through 1930 seasons.[10] Though Rice hit .310 in 1931 across 120 games, Dave Harris got significant playing time when the team was facing lefthanded pitchers. The Senators also began to explore younger players for their outfield spots.[10][19]

The Senators held "Sam Rice Day" in late 1932, where the team presented him with several gifts, including a check for more than $2200 and a new Studebaker automobile. He played only 106 games that year, often appearing as a pinch hitter. In 1933, the team returned to the World Series. Though the team lost, Rice batted once in the second game, picking up a pinch hit single.[20] The Senators released him after the season.[21]

He played in 1934 with the Cleveland Indians, then retired at the age of 44. Cleveland manager Walter Johnson talked to Rice about returning in 1935, but Rice refused.[21] Rice retired with a .322 career average. He stood erect at the plate and used quick wrists to slash pitches to all fields. He never swung at the first pitch and seldom struck out, once completing a 616-at-bat season with nine strikeouts. As the ultimate contact man with the picture-perfect swing, Rice was never a home run threat, but his speed often turned singles into doubles, and his 1920 stolen base total of 63 earned him the timely nickname "Man o' War".

With 2,987 hits, Rice has the most of any player not to reach 3,000. Rice later said, "The truth of the matter is I did not even know how many hits I had. A couple of years after I quit, [Senators owner] Clark Griffith told me about it, and asked me if I'd care to have a comeback with the Senators and pick up those 13 hits. But I was out of shape, and didn't want to go through all that would have been necessary to make the effort. Nowadays, with radio and television announcers spouting records every time a player comes to bat, I would have known about my hits and probably would have stayed to make 3,000 of them."[22] In postseason play, Rice produced 19 hits and a .302 batting average.[14]