HOF Profile: Jim Rice
Jim Rice - Leftfielder
Boston Red Sox 1974-1989
13th year on the ballot
Past HOF Voting Results
1995: 29.78%
1996: 35.32%
1997: 37.63%
1998: 42.92%
1999: 29.38%
2000: 51.50%
2001: 57.86%
2002: 55.08%
2003: 52.22%
2004: 54.55%
2005: 59.50%
2006: 64.80%
Awards
1978 AL MVP
1983 AL Silver Slugger - OF
1984 AL Silver Slugger - OF
All-Star Selections: 8 (1977, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986)
League Leader
1977: Homeruns, Total Bases, Slugging %
1978: Hits, Homeruns, RBI, Triples, Total Bases, Runs Created, Slugging %, OPS, OPS+
1979: Total Bases
1983: Homeruns, RBI, Total Bases
Career Ranks
Hits: 93rd
HR: 52nd
RBI: 52nd
TB: 63rd
SLG: 89th
RC: 79th
Hall of Fame Stats
Black Ink: Batting - 33 (49) (Average HOFer ≈ 27)
Gray Ink: Batting - 176 (56) (Average HOFer ≈ 144)
HOF Standards: Batting - 42.9 (122) (Average HOFer ≈ 50)
HOF Monitor: Batting - 146.5 (82) (Likely HOFer > 100)
Similar Batters in HOF: 4 (Orlando Cepeda, Duke Snider, Billy Williams, Willie Stargell)
Other Similar Batters: Andres Galarraga, Ellis Burks, Joe Carter, Dave Parker, Luis Gonzalez, Chili Davis
Year-by-Year Win Shares & Wins Above Replacement Level (WARP3)
1974: 1/0.1
1975: 20/4.8
1976: 17/4.2
1977: 26/7.4
1978: 36/10.4
1979: 28/8.2
1980: 16/4.9
1981: 15/6.3
1982: 21/6.4
1983: 24/9.1
1984: 17/7.3
1985: 14/5.4
1986: 28/9.4
1987: 8/2.7
1988: 9/2.6
1989: 2/0.1
Career Win Shares: 282
Career WARP3: 89.2
Would he get my vote?
No. A few years ago I was on the Rice bandwagon but I have since jumped off. He was fabulous from 1977-1979 but when you look at the rest of the career there's only two other great seasons and the offensive standards for a being HOF corner outfielder are almost as high as first basemen. He also benefitted from playing his entire career in Fenway Park and he had a large home/road split posting an OPS 131 points higher (.920 to .789) at Fenway than on the road. I think he needed two more good years to push him over the top but his skills eroded rapidly in his mid-30s so much so that he's become the poster boy for a player who has a sudden decline in production in their mid-30s. If he had been a great defensive outfielder or a great base stealer that could have also pushed him over the top but he was neither. I will say that he seems a tad underrated by WARP3. He is gaining support from the writers and I could see him getting a big bump in one his final two years on the ballot although he obviously no chance this year. There's a case to be made for him and I won't have a problem if he ever gets in but he doesn't get my imaginary vote.
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