Player #74G: Edgar C. "Sam" Rice. Outfielder for the Washington Senators in 1915-1933. 2,987 hits and 34 home runs in 20 MLB seasons. 1924 World Series champion. 1920 AL stolen base leader. He was inducted into the MLB Hall of Fame in 1963. Led the Senators to three AL pennants (1924,1925, and 1933). Best known for controversial "over the fence" catch in the 1925 World Series. He had many excellent seasons, but one of his best was 1930 as he posted a .407 OBP with 121 runs scored in 669 plate appearances. He had 63 stolen bases in 1920. He last played in 1934 with the Cleveland Indians. His early life was marred by tragedy when his wife, two daughters, parents, and two sisters were all killed by a tornado in Indiana.
Carroll takes us through Rice's 1922 season Part 2: . . . The '22 season was a struggle. Even when things went well, they were overshadowed. During a May series against the Yankees, Rice reached base in eight consecutive plate appearances, including two home runs (one inside-the-park). But even the hometown Washington Post gave top billing in the next morning's paper to Babe Ruth's temper tantrum in the game that drew a threat of suspension from the league. With the Yankees coming to town the next afternoon, the Post argued vehemently that suspensions should be outlawed in baseball because they hurt the fans who take great pains to attend ballgames (the suspension was lifted after just one game in favor of a $200 fine).
By objective standards, Rice didn't have a terrible season at the plate in 1922, but it was certainly a step backward for him. His thirty-seven doubles and thirteen triples put him among the league leaders in both categories. And a year after being forced out of the lineup for a couple of weeks with a nagging ankle sprain, Rice was back to playing in all 154 games -- plus, in a league-leading 633 at-bats, he struck out just thirteen times. Among American League regulars, only Cleveland veteran Stuffy McGinnis, with a remarkable five strikeouts in 537 at-bats, whiffed less frequently. McGinnis, a man who would finish his career with three World Series rings, 2,405 hits and a career batting average of .307, wasn't horrible company to keep. But just two years earlier, Rice had spent the summer putting his name alongside guys like Ruth, Sisler and Jackson as one of the American League's top hitters.
Rice's .295 mark wasn't bad, especially since it was a steady .295, with few prolonged slumps or hot streaks throughout the course of the 1922 season. But it wasn't close to the pace he had set the previous two years. And he was playing in a league in which Ty Cobb batted .401, yet still failed to win his thirteenth batting title. That honor went to Sisler, who hit .420. (Sam Rice by Jeff Carroll.)
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