Jim Rice Is Sounding A Little Ignorant

Jim Rice is doing an interview in Boston that is on the MLB Network right now and man does he sound ignorant. He was asked if he felt his OBP was the main reason it took so long for him to get in. He then talked about how he thinks OBP is overrated and that walks aren't valuable to a team. That he did more good by striking out and trying to get the ball into the outfield than by walking and having a man on first and second instead of a man on first.

...

...

Seriously? Striking out is more valuable to a team than getting a walk?

I think he should be in the Hall but come on, that is just ignorant.

With that attitude, how is he not a colour commentator for a major network yet?

He is all high on the world because he finally got in. I can't blame the guy! He has been practicing that act for 14 years! lol.

He also made mention of when he played the players were "men".I suppose they are all little boys now?Not really sure what he meant even though he explained it.Oh well....I am happy he got in but he better come up with something better for his induction speech.Thats all I have to say!

predatorkj said:

He also made mention of when he played the players were "men".I suppose they are all little boys now?Not really sure what he meant even though he explained it.Oh well....I am happy he got in but he better come up with something better for his induction speech.Thats all I have to say!

Click to expand...

I think he was saying they were tougher, which is carp. His own interview has cooled my opinion of him :lol:

With that attitude, I'm stunned he isn't Dusty Baker's bench coach yet.

What onc was a $30.00 In-person card show autograph will now be $100.00 + $20 per inscription.

I didn't hear it, but if I had to guess, I would say he is just voicing his displeasure with the way the modern game has changed. I fully understand what he is saying. He probably feels like people have lost their value for power hitters with how it's all about OBP now.

KandKCards said:

I didn't hear it, but if I had to guess, I would say he is just voicing his displeasure with the way the modern game has changed. I fully understand what he is saying. He probably feels like people have lost their value for power hitters with how it's all about OBP now.

Click to expand...

Well...what somebody needs to explain to the man is that really...the most valuable players are the ones who help their team the most.Power be damned.If your not helping your team...who cares about power?

Clearly, you don't have NESN.

He's among the worst studio analysts ever - he just repeats what his co-host says. I'm not sure he has original thoughts at all.

That said, what a hitter, and I'm happy he's finally in. Now he doesn't have to worry about the Broadcasters' Wing.

Once a Chowd always a Chowd!

His point of view is one that action is better than inaction. No one ever hit a home run with the bat on his shoulder. By swinging the bat, he at least took the chance that he'd make contact, put the ball in play, and that contact could produce a hit or a productive out. This is not an invalid theory, given a hitter with good bat control who strikes out infrequently, or a hitter who doubles and homers a good percentage of the time. But in practice it's generally not a good idea. The number of times Rice left his team with a man on first and one less out to work with compared to a man on first and second or first and third or third is probably a little disappointing. But I don't imagine Rice was ever a member of SABR, and everyone's entitled to his own opinion. The game was different in the 70s and 80s, and the AL especially was the 'wait for the big hit' league with the DH and all that.

Jim Rice was feared.

As far as I know, the only hitter to ever break his bat on a checked swing.

Moonlight Graham said:

Jim Rice was feared.

As far as I know, the only hitter to ever break his bat on a checked swing.

Click to expand...

I could be mistaken here but I remember our high school baseball coach telling us Danny Tartabul did it once as well.Either way...I could imagine you have to have freakish strength to even do it so that is kinda amazing if you think about it.


As for helping his team by trying to get that power hit and the game being different back then...thats correct in its own right.But that does not lend creedence to an individual striking out.Rice was a great hitter when he could be but I would say that he could have been more disciplined as well.While getting a big hit really helps the team or getting a homer does as well...you can't make something out of nothing all of the time and get results that are helpful.

Our coaches used to always say something that I remember to this day."Make him pitch to you".While it sounds simple and very childish(i.e. something you would tell a kid in little league) it really is good advice.Make the pitcher throw you something you can hit by not swinging at the junk and not being so predictable at the plate.I would imagine...even back in the 70's and 80's this was a train of thought as well and I am not in the HOF as Jim Rice now is nor have I ever played professional ball but I would hazard a guess this is and was still important advice.When he kinda scoffs at striking out and acts like it was a means to an end...I am reminded of people like Joe Dimaggio who struck out little and obviously bought into the make him pitch to you mindset.Anybody who doesn't know what I am talking about or thinks I am rambling...go check out how many strikeouts Joe D. had in his career.Its nuts!


I agree its just one mans opinion but if Rice is going to speaking a lot more these days...he needs to really sit down and figure out how he feels about things and what he thinks.I think he was caught off guard by a lot of stuff because he seemed like he had a hard time coming up with anything that sounded like a good point or made much sense.

IndyMann said:

What onc was a $30.00 In-person card show autograph will now be $100.00 + $20 per inscription.

Click to expand...

I got mine for $20 about a year ago.

braden said:

With that attitude, how is he not a color commentator for a major network yet?

Click to expand...

Him And Joe Morgan and Tim McCarver team up this year and will call the World Series

Come Fox make this happen damn it !

KandKCards said:

I didn't hear it, but if I had to guess, I would say he is just voicing his displeasure with the way the modern game has changed. I fully understand what he is saying. He probably feels like people have lost their value for power hitters with how it's all about OBP now.

Click to expand...

Exactly, glad someone else got what he was saying.

Pete14Rose said:

KandKCards said:

I didn't hear it, but if I had to guess, I would say he is just voicing his displeasure with the way the modern game has changed. I fully understand what he is saying. He probably feels like people have lost their value for power hitters with how it's all about OBP now.

Click to expand...

Exactly, glad someone else got what he was saying.

Click to expand...

But nobody undervalues power hitters today.

Case in point: Albert Pujols. I think everyone can agree that Albert Pujols is a power hitter. Everyone knows that if Pujols keeps up for a few more years he's a first ballot lock for the Hall. His OBP is .425 because the man just rarely strikes out. Plate discipline and power hitters can go hand-in-hand. Arguing that striking out is more valuable to a team than getting a walk is a farce.

What the election of Jim Rice to the Baseball Hall of Fame does (for me anyway) is confuse me as to the lack of support the following players have attained:

1) Dale Murphy - 398 HRs (more than Rice); 1,266 RBI; back-to-back MVPs; six seasons of 30+ HR; five 100+ RBI seasons; five gold-gloves; two HR titles (and three additional top-5 finishes); two RBI titles (three additional top-5 finishes); seven-time all-star;

2) Joe Carter - 398 HRs (more than Rice); 1,445 RBI (10 seasons of 100+ RBI including six seasons in a row!!!); 231 SBs; five-time all-star; six top-5 finishes in RBIs; .259 career BA;

3) Andres Galarraga (not on ballot yet but will no-doubt gain very few votes especially if David Cone failed to get 5% on his first try which is another travesty) - 399 HR; 1,425 RBI; .288 BA; 5-time all-star; two gold gloves; batting title; HR title (four additional top-5 finishes); two RBI titles; and,

4) Larry Walker (another who is not on ballot yet; however, will probably have a tough go round) - 383 HR; 1,311 RBI; .313 BA; 230 SB; .400 OBP; 5-time All-Star; Seven gold-gloves; From 1997-2002, finished first in BA three-times and second twice!); one HR title and one second-place finish; Four 30-plus HR seasons; One MVP award; 5 100-RBI seasons; and probably one of the best all-around seasons in baseball history albeit in Colorado (1997 - .366 49 HR 130 RBI 208 Hits 143 Runs 46 2Bs 33 SBs 1.072 OPS)

Now measure these stats with those of newly-enshrined Jim Rice's:

.298 BA 382 HR 1,451 RBI; 8-time All-Star; One MVP (though he did finish top-5 five additional times); Three HR titles (2 top-5 finishes); Two RBI titles (4 top-5 finishes); Eight 100-RBI seasons.

To me, other than the difference in batting average, there was virtually no major difference between Dale Murphy and Jim Rice. In fact, Murphy was arguably the best centerfielder of his time, while Rice's fielding never his forte as evidenced by the fact that he never won a Gold Glove Award while Murphy has won five. Plus, Murphy was/is a nice guy who was/is well-respected by the media. Not sure how his candidacy has fallen through the cracks like it has all these years. Maybe he held on too long. If he retired two-years earlier, his BA may have been over .270, which may have helped his cause. Whatever the case, Rice's election is a travesty as compared to Murphy's non-election.

As for the other players I mentioned above, Joe Carter had a very similar career to Rice other than the Batting Average. He was a clutch-hitter, drove in a ton of runs in a relatively compacted career and was always considered to be one of the best run producers of his time, despite his low OBP, which Rice was also guilty of having.

Galarraga an Walker, I suspect, may fall victim to the Colorado-syndrome. While their lifetime statistics rival those of many Hall-of-Famers from yesteryear, the fact that they put up these numbers while playing half their games in Colorado for a big part of their careers may end up hurting their chances. Walker is more Hall-worthy than Galarraga; however, their stats produce an interesting conversation.

Joe Carter, in my opinion, is NOT a Hall of Famer; however, his numbers aren't that far from Rice's (with the exception of BA), so that is why I put him name in the mix.

Forget Colorado syndrome, how about playing-in-a-completely-different-era syndrome? Rice played at a time when 30 HR was a big deal.