Rice joined the Red Sox as a full time player in 1975. He and fellow rookie Fred Lynn were known as the “Gold Dust Twins”. Lynn made the bigger impact that year winning the MLB Rookie of the Year award. Rice did not play in the 1975 World Series because of an injury that occurred late in the season.

In 1978 Rice won the MLB Most Valuable Player award for a campaign where he hit .315 (3rd in the league) and he led the league in Home Runs, Runs Batted in, hits, triples and slugging percentage. His 406 total bases were the most since Joe DiMaggio had 418 in 1937.

Rice was adept at playing left field in Fenway Park. He was able to master the various caroms that balls took off of the Green Monster.

Rice's below average foot-speed and his ability to hit the ball hard resulted in him hitting into many double plays. In 1984 he hit into a record 36 double plays and had 35 more the following year.

Rice finished his career with 382 home runs and a .298 batting average.

There is a debate ongoing about the quality of Rice's career and whether it merits induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame. While Rice was one of the best hitters of his generation his career totals are low compared to other Hall of Famer's.

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