Jim Rice

High school

Westside High School

Pro team(s)

Boston Red Sox

Hall of Fame

⭐ National Baseball Hall of Fame

James Edward Rice was born on March 8, 1953, in Anderson, South Carolina, and attended Westside High School, where he was one of the most sought-after baseball and football prospects in the state. The Boston Red Sox selected him 15th overall in the 1974 amateur draft, and he quickly established himself as one of the most feared left-handed hitters of his generation. Rice won the 1978 American League MVP award in a season of historic power — hitting .315 with 46 home runs and 139 RBI, becoming the first AL player since Mickey Mantle to lead the league in home runs, RBI, and triples simultaneously. He was an eight-time All-Star and for a stretch in the late 1970s and early 1980s was considered the most dangerous hitter in the American League — an imposing physical presence who hit the ball so hard that his line drives routinely broke bats on contact. His career was spent entirely with the Red Sox over 16 seasons, during which he accumulated 2,452 hits, 382 home runs, and a .298 career average. He was also known as one of the finest left fielders in Fenway Park history, with a strong arm and reliable glove. Rice was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 2009, finally receiving the recognition that many felt he deserved years earlier. Born and raised in Anderson, South Carolina.