He also led the league in home runs three times, RBIs and slugging percentage twice each, and averaged more than 117 hits for every 100 regular season MLB games he had played in during his career.

From 1975 through 1980 he was part of one of the sport's great outfields along with Fred Lynn and Dwight Evans (who was his teammate for his entire career); Rice continued the tradition of his predecessors Ted Williams and Carl Yastrzemski as a power-hitting left fielder who played his entire career for the Red Sox.

[1][2][3] Rice was promoted in the Red Sox organization to be a full-time player in 1975, and finished in second place for the American League's Rookie of the Year honors, and third in the Most Valuable Player voting, after he finished the season with 174 base hits, 102 runs batted in, a .309 batting average and 22 home runs; Lynn won both awards.

Altogether he led the AL in 11 different categories that season, one shy of tying the Major league record of 12 set in 1921 by Rogers Hornsby.

At the end of the 1983 season Rice led the AL in four categories including home runs, RBIs, total bases, and grounding into double plays.

During his most productive 12-season span from 1975 to 1986, Rice collectively led all American League players in total games played, at bats, runs scored, hits, homers, RBIs, slugging percentage, total bases, extra base hits, go-ahead RBIs, multi-hit games, and outfield assists.

He could hit for both power and average, and currently only 12 other retired players rank ahead of him in both career home runs and batting average: Hank Aaron, Jimmie Foxx, Lou Gehrig, Willie Mays, Stan Musial, Mel Ott, Babe Ruth, Ted Williams, Chipper Jones, Vladimir Guerrero, Mike Piazza, and Larry Walker.

Rice was an accomplished left fielder, finishing his career with a fielding percentage of .980 and 137 outfield assists (comparable to Ted Williams' figures of .974 and 140).

Although he did not possess great speed, he had a strong throwing arm and was able to master the various caroms that balls took from the Green Monster (in left field) in Fenway Park.

[6] Rice was associated with a variety of charitable organizations during his career, primarily on behalf of children, some of which carried on into his retirement.

During a nationally televised game on August 7, 1982, Rice rushed into the stands to help a young boy who was struck in the head by a line drive off the bat of Dave Stapleton.

Rice left the dugout and entered the stands to help four-year-old Jonathan Keane, who was bleeding heavily.

Rice carried the boy onto the field, through the Red Sox dugout, and into the clubhouse, where he was immediately treated by the team's medical staff.

Since 2003, he's also been employed as a commentator for the New England Sports Network (NESN), where he contributes to the Red Sox pre-game and post-game shows.

[18] During his Hall of Fame acceptance speech Rice revealed that he is a devoted fan of The Young and the Restless, noting that he was watching the show when he was informed of his election into Cooperstown.

[19] While Rice was generally regarded as one of the better hitters of his era based upon the statistics traditionally used by the BBWAA to evaluate players' Hall of Fame qualifications, he was not elected until his 15th and final year of eligibility, netting 76.4% of the votes, in 2009.

Rice became the ninth enshrinee inducted into the Hall of Fame on his last chance on the BBWWAA ballot, and it was the first since Ralph Kiner (1975).

Rice's delay in being elected to the Hall of Fame stemmed in part from more current statistical analysis of player performance.

[23] Some writers, such as the Boston Herald's Sean McAdam, said that Rice's chances improved[24] with the exposure of the "Steroids Era" in baseball.

In the same article, McAdam expanded this subject by adding: "In an era when power numbers are properly viewed with a healthy dose of suspicion, Rice's production over the course of his 16 years gains additional stature."

Both were power-hitting left fielders who batted right-handed, played their home games in stadiums which favored hitters, and had a period of a few years in which they enjoyed a remarkable burst of offense, each winning an MVP award at age 25 – Rice after collecting 400 total bases, and Medwick after becoming the last NL player to win the Triple Crown.

Their career totals in games, at bats, runs, hits, RBI, steals, on-base percentage, slugging percentage, extra base hits, and total bases are all fairly similar, with notable differences only in batting average and home runs; Medwick's higher average (.324 to .298) can be partially attributed to the higher emphasis on batting average in the 1930s, while Rice's advantage in home runs (382 to 205) is largely the result of a dramatic increase in homers over the 40 years between their careers (Rice ranked 10th in AL history upon his retirement, while Medwick ranked 11th in NL history upon his).