SAINT PETERSBURG — Ben Rice is going to the Home Run Derby, and so is his dad.
Dan Rice, a pitcher at Brown University in the 1980s, will throw to his son in the annual power expo on July 13 in Philadelphia. The younger Rice let his dad know over the phone after confirming his own participation on Tuesday.
“That was always a lifelong dream of both of ours, so I’m really looking forward to it,” the Yankees’ first baseman said. “He had a good curveball back in the day. My friends and family back home were all joking that I gotta remind him to not throw me breaking stuff and try to get me out during the Derby because that was always how we trained.
“He always throws to me in the offseason, too, still. His lifetime pitch count is through the roof at this point, so we’ll keep adding to that total on Monday.”
Rice, who homered in Monday’s win over the Rays, has blossomed into one of baseball’s best hitters this season. The 27-year-old entered Tuesday’s contest against Tampa Bay with 25 home runs, which tied for fifth in the majors. He had .925 OPS, good for eighth in the sport.
While Rice is a first-time All-Star, he has some experience in home run hitting contests. When he played in the Futures League in 2020, games that exceeded 10 innings were settled with a home run derby. That summer, Rice said he won three games for his team that way.
Now Rice will try to become the fifth Yankee to win the Home Run Derby; Tino Martinez (1997), Jason Giambi (2002), Robinson Canó (2011) and teammate Aaron Judge (2017) have already done it. He’ll look to do so at Citizens Bank Park, which is friendly to left-handed hitters like himself.
“Hopefully it’s just a lot of fun and meaningful to the entire Rice family, and so I’m excited for him,” Aaron Boone said, adding that he’s not worried about the Derby having a negative impact on one of his most important players. “Hopefully he goes there and does well, and it’ll be a little springboard for him in the second half.”
Rice’s dad won’t be the only familiar face lending a helping hand in the Derby, as fellow Massachusetts native and first-time All-Star Cam Schlittler has volunteered for another important job.
“I’ll be his Gatorade guy,” said Schlittler, who could start the Midsummer Classic for the American League.
Boone thought that would make for a funny scene.
“It makes me want to watch it,” the manager said. ”Watch Cam out there with his towel and his Gatorade and his whole skit out there, probably flicking seeds at [Rice] and stuff. It’ll be cool to see those guys both there enjoying an important event.”
Schlittler and Rice aren’t the only ones representing the Yankees on the American League squad, as Aaron Judge and Cody Bellinger both earned All-Star selections. Judge is recovering from a fractured rib and won’t participate in the game; it’s unclear if he’ll attend All-Star festivities in Philly.
He did, however, recently watch a round from his Home Run Derby victory with Rice on a team flight, and the two have talked a little bit about the experience. Bellinger, Giancarlo Stanton and Jazz Chisholm Jr. have also done the Derby, so Rice can get tips from a handful of teammates.
That said, he’s not going into the event with a plan. He just wants to soak it all in.
“I haven’t really thought about strategy,” Rice said. “I just want to enjoy it. Just have fun taking BP with my dad at a big league field in front of a bunch of people, which should be cool.”