Ben Rice

Benjamin Kimball Rice (born February 22, 1999) is an American professional baseball first baseman, designated hitter, and catcher for the New York Yankees of Major League Baseball (MLB). Rice played college baseball for Dartmouth College and was selected by the Yankees in the 12th round of the 2021 MLB draft. He made his MLB debut in 2024. Rice was named to his first All-Star game in 2026.

Early life Rice grew up in Cohasset, Massachusetts. He began playing hockey at a young age before pursuing baseball. He grew a fan of the New York Yankees of Major League Baseball (MLB), despite many of his friends supporting the rival Boston Red Sox. Since a young age, Rice's favorite player is former Yankee Derek Jeter. After graduating, Rice enrolled at Dartmouth College, where he played college baseball for the Dartmouth Big Green. In 2019, his freshman year, he received 72 at bats. Rice appeared in seven games during his sophomore year in 2020 before the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in the cancellation of the remainder of the season. Rice helped organize scrimmages among Ivy League baseball players in 2020 to offset this.

With the Ivy League still shut down in 2021, Rice played for the Braintree White Sox of the Cranberry Baseball League, an amateur league. He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in psychology from Dartmouth in 2022.

Minor leagues The Yankees selected Rice in the 12th round, with the 363rd overall selection, of the 2021 MLB draft. Rice spent his first professional season with the rookie-level Florida Complex League Yankees and Single-A Tampa Tarpons, hitting .197 in 23 combined games.

Rice spent the 2022 campaign back with Tampa, playing in 68 games and hitting .267/.368/.442 with nine home runs and 36 runs batted in (RBIs). He started the 2023 with Tampa before being promoted to the High-A Hudson Valley Renegades and Double-A Somerset Patriots during the season. In 73 games split between the three affiliates, Rice accumulated a .324/.434/.615 slash line with 20 home runs, 68 RBIs, and 11 stolen bases.

Rice began the 2024 season with Somerset. He was promoted to the Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders on June 5, for whom he batted .294/.428/.661 in 109 at bats. He made his debut that day against the Baltimore Orioles. He recorded his first major league hit in the third inning with a single to right field. On July 6, in a game against the Boston Red Sox, Rice became the first rookie in Yankees history to hit three home runs in one game; his seven RBIs also matched Lou Gehrig's record for a Yankee rookie. Rice finished his MLB season with a .171 batting average.613 OPS, 7 home runs, and 23 RBIs in 50 games.

In the 2024–25 offseason, Rice added approximately of muscle in an effort to improve his offensive production. Following a strong performance in spring training, Rice made the Yankees' Opening Day roster for the 2025 season, and went on to produce elite offensive metrics while seeing time as designated hitter, first-baseman, and catcher. He finished the regular season with a .255 batting average.836 OPS, 26 home runs, and 65 RBIs in 530 plate appearances. He hit a home run in his first postseason at-bat during the 2025 American League Wild Card Series against Boston. Rice was selected for the 2026 MLB All-Star Game and will participate in the 2026 Home Run Derby.

Personal life Rice's father, Dan, played college baseball as a pitcher for Brown University.

Rice speaks fluent Spanish, having learned it in middle school and continued taking classes in college. His Hispanic teammates often nickname him "Ben Arroz" (the Spanish word for "rice"). He practiced the language further when he reached the minor leagues, finding it particularly helpful for communicating with Spanish-speaking pitchers.