Ben Rice is living out a childhood dream with the New York Yankees, and his hot start to the 2025 season has him reflecting on the journey that brought him here—including a rebellious moment deep in enemy territory. Growing up in Massachusetts as a diehard Yankees fan, Rice found himself surrounded by Red Sox Nation, but he never wavered in his loyalty. He shared a story with MLB.com’s Anthony Castrovince that captures his fandom perfectly: during a tour of Fenway Park as a kid, Rice made his mark on the Pesky Pole in right field. “We did a little tour of Fenway Park, and when we went over to the Pesky Pole, I wrote ‘Yankees Rule’ on the Pesky Pole,” Rice recalled. “So probably one of the very few, if any, pro-Yankees writing on there.” That bold act of defiance in the heart of Boston is a fitting metaphor for Rice’s rise—a 6-foot-2 lefty who’s now proving his younger self right by crushing homers for the team he grew up idolizing.
Rice has become an integral part of Aaron Boone’s lineup, stepping into the designated hitter role while Giancarlo Stanton recovers from a lingering elbow injury that’s kept him sidelined since late March. After playing 50 games for the Yankees in 2024, where he hit .294 with 15 homers and 41 RBIs, Rice has picked up right where he left off. Through April 24, 2025, he’s batting .317 with a .402 on-base percentage, trailing only Aaron Judge and Jazz Chisholm Jr. for the team lead in homers with seven. His power surge has been a big part of the Yankees’ early success—they’re 15-10 and leading the AL East, fresh off a 5-1 win over the Cleveland Guardians on April 23. Rice has been leading things off, setting the table for Judge, whose .415 average and 1.215 OPS have him in early MVP talks. “He rakes, dude,” Boone said when asked about Rice’s impact. “He absolutely rakes.” It’s high praise from a manager who’s seen plenty of sluggers come through the Bronx.
What’s fueling Rice’s hot start? Part of it is the Yankees’ adoption of torpedo bats, a new weighted training tool the team introduced in spring training to help hitters generate more bat speed. An X post from
@YankeesMetrics on April 20 noted that the team’s average exit velocity has jumped to 91.3 mph in 2025, up from 89.7 mph in 2024, with Rice, Judge, and Chisholm all benefiting from the added pop. Rice’s .402 OBP plays perfectly in front of Judge, giving the Yankees a lethal 1-2 punch at the top of the order. At 26, Rice has shown he can handle the pressure of hitting in New York, a far cry from his days at Dartmouth, where he slashed .349/.447/.602 over three seasons before being drafted in the 12th round in 2021. His path to the majors included a breakout 2023 in Double-A Somerset, where he hit 20 homers in 73 games, earning a call-up the following year.
The Yankees won’t face the Red Sox until June, when they’ll visit Fenway Park for a four-game series starting June 12. When that day comes, Rice will have extra motivation to make a full-circle moment at the Pesky Pole—maybe with a homer that wraps around it, just to rub it in. For now, though, he’s focused on keeping the Yankees rolling as they prepare for a weekend series against the Toronto Blue Jays starting April 25 at Yankee Stadium. Stanton’s return, expected sometime in mid-May after he began swinging a bat again on April 23 (per YES Network), will give Boone some tough lineup decisions. But with the way Rice is swinging, it’s hard to imagine him being the odd man out. From a kid scribbling “Yankees Rule” in enemy territory to a key piece of their lineup, Ben Rice is proving he belongs in pinstripes—and he’s got the power to back it up.
