Finally Red Sox Nation and baseball fans in general can rejoice in the entry of Jim Rice in baseball’s Hall of Fame. During his tenure as a left fielder for the Sox, Jim was known as one of the most feared hitters in any line-up American League or National League. Jim made his major league debut in 1954 and had a career that saw him voted to the All-Stars for 8 years. He retired from the game with a batting average of just shy of 300 with a 298, 382 home runs with over 1400 runs batted in.

The year was 1978 and Jim Rice had a monster year at the plate. He was rewarded the MVP after leading the league in seven offensive categories. He batted 315 average hit 46 home runs, drove in a total 139 rbis.  Back then before the steroid era those numbers are staggering, but even more so was the fact in that same MVP year Jim had 15 triples.

Jim’s career was shortened by injuries to his knees and elbow. If it were not for the injuries Jim’s career stats would have been even more impressive. Maybe that’s what took him so long to get into the Hall, but now that he’s in the game of baseball is better for it.