Ben Rice: Everything You Need to Know About the Viral Sensation Everyone’s Searching for Today

Ben Rice’s bat is forcing the New York Yankees to rewrite their postseason script just 16 months after the Dartmouth alum made his big-league debut. The 26-year-old rookie first baseman/catcher crushed a first-pitch Brayan Bello cutter into Yankee Stadium’s right-field seats during Game 2 of the American League Wild Card Series, powering a 4-3 win that evened the showdown with the Boston Red Sox and breathed new life into New York’s playoff hopes. The blast continued a torrid stretch that saw Rice hit three homers in his last seven games and finish the regular season slashing .255/.337/.499 with 26 home runs and a hard-hit rate that ranked seventh in the Majors. Manager Aaron Boone has alternated Rice and veteran Paul Goldschmidt at first base, preferring Goldschmidt versus left-handed pitching, but Rice’s damage against Bello and his 93.3 mph average exit velocity have the skipper reconsidering the matchup playbook ahead of tonight’s Game 3 against Red Sox rookie southpaw Connelly Early. “Benny Barrels is swinging it as well as anyone,” Boone said after Game 2. “We weigh every matchup, but it’s hard to take that kind of thunder out of the lineup right now.” A lifelong Red Sox follower who grew up in Cohasset, Mass., Rice once scrawled “Yankees Rule!” on Fenway Park’s Pesky Pole during a childhood tour. Wednesday he carved his name into postseason lore, becoming the first Yankee since Evan Longoria in 2008 to homer on the first postseason pitch he saw. “To do it against Boston in October is something I’ll remember forever,” Rice said. The left-handed slugger’s rise has been meteoric: a 12th-round pick in 2021, an emergency call-up in June 2024, and now a middle-of-the-order threat in the Bronx. His ability to handle both first base and catcher has stabilized a roster battered by injuries, while his disciplined, pull-side power has erased concerns about Yankee Stadium’s short porch skewing his numbers—15 of his 26 regular-season homers came on the road. Boston, meanwhile, must decide how to navigate Rice in the late innings. Bello’s cutter leaked back over the plate; Early’s four-seam/slider mix profiles similarly, and manager Alex Cora hinted the club could deploy right-handed reliever Kenley Jansen earlier than usual if Rice comes up with men aboard. “You can’t let a hot hitter see the same look twice,” Cora said. For the Yankees, the calculus is simple: win Game 3 at home tonight and head to Fenway Park needing one victory to clinch. Rice’s presence in the lineup would push Giancarlo Stanton to designated hitter and give New York three straight left-handed bats—Rice, Jazz Chisholm Jr. and Juan Soto—against a Boston pitching staff light on impact left-on-left options. Beyond the box score, Rice’s sudden stardom has energized the fan base. His Dartmouth roots and New England upbringing add a layer of narrative fire to baseball’s most storied rivalry, and merchandise featuring his No. 22 pinstripes sold out at the Yankees’ team store within hours of Wednesday’s homer. Whether Boone writes Rice’s name on tonight’s card or holds him for a pinch-hit haymaker, one thing is clear: the kid who once dreamed of these October nights now owns a central role in them. If his barrel stays true, the Yankees’ path to the AL Division Series may be paved by the unlikeliest of heroes—a Massachusetts native tormenting the team he grew up cheering.