Sam Rice (1963)


Date of Birth: 2/20/1890
Date of Death: 10/13/1974
Birthplace: Morocco, Indiana

Sam Rice started his professional baseball career in the minor leagues with the Central Association in 1912. He played in the Virginia League in 1914. The Washington Senators purchased his contract in July, 1915.

Washington Senators (Minnesota Twins)

Rice first pitched for the Senators in 1915, pitching in four games with them that season. The following season, he was moved to the outfield for 53 games after pitching in five games. He batted .299 with 59 hits in 1916.

In 1917, his first full season in the major leagues, Rice batted .302 with 177 hits, 25 doubles, and 35 stolen bases in a career high 155 games. He served in the army in 1918, and he played in only seven games with the Senators that year.

Rice played well in his first season back with the Senators. He led the AL in games played in 1919. He batted .321 with 179 hits, 23 doubles, and 26 stolen bases in 141 games. He also played well defensively, leading AL right fielders in putouts with 279.

Rice led the AL in stolen bases in 1920, with a career high of 63. He finished the season with 211 hits, 29 doubles, 80 RBIs, and a .338 batting average in 153 games. The following season, he batted .330 in 143 games. He finished the 1921 season with 185 hits, 39 doubles, 13 triples, 26 stolen bases, and 79 RBIs. Although his batting average dropped to .295 in 1922, his other numbers were similar to the previous season (187 hits, 37 doubles, 13 triples, 20 stolen bases, 69 RBIs in 154 games).

Rice led the AL in triples in 1923 with a career high of 18. He had 188 hits, 35 doubles, 20 stolen bases, 75 RBIs, and a .316 batting average in 148 games. He again led AL right fielders in putouts with 307.

In 1924, Rice led the AL in hits with 215. He finished the season with 39 doubles, 14 triples, 24 stolen bases, 76 RBIs, and a .334 batting average in 154 games. The following season, he had career highs in hits with 227 and in RBIs with 87. He finished the 1925 season with 31 doubles, 13 triples, 26 stolen bases, and a .350 batting average in 152 games. He once more led AL right fielders in putouts with 276.

Rice led the AL in hits again in 1926. He had 216 hits, 32 doubles, 14 triples, 76 RBIs, and a .337 batting average in 152 games. He stole 24 bases but he was also caught stealing 23 times.

Rice's batting average dropped to .297 in 1927. He had 179 hits, 33 doubles, 14 triples, and 65 RBIs in 142 games. The following season, he batted .328 in 148 games. He finished the 1928 season with 202 hits, 32 doubles, 15 triples, and 55 RBIs. Defensively, he led AL right fielders in putouts in 1927 with 251 and in 1928 with 239.

Rice continued to play well offensively in 1929 and 1930. He batted .323 in 1929, and .349 the following year. He finished the 1929 season with 199 hits, 39 doubles, and 62 RBIs in 150 games. In 1930, he had 207 hits, 35 doubles, and 73 RBIs in 147 games.

Rice's playing time diminished in has final three years with the Senators. He played in 120 games in 1931, and he batted .310 with 128 hits. The next year, he batted .323 in 106 games. In 1933, he played in just 73 games and he batted .294.

Cleveland Indians

The Senators released Rice on January 8, 1934. A month later, on February 13th, he signed with the Cleveland Indians. He played just one year with the Indians, batting .293 with 98 hits in 97 games in 1934.

MLB Records

  • Led AL in hits (2 times)

Career Statistics

Rice played in over 100 games in each of 15 seasons (1917, 1919-1932). His statistics during that time include:

  • 13 seasons with over 150 hits, with a high of 227 in 1925
  • 10 seasons with over 30 doubles, with a high of 39 in 1921, 1924, and 1929
  • 10 seasons with 10 or more triples, with a high of 18 in 1923
  • 9 seasons with 20 or more stolen bases, with a high of 63 in 1920
  • 14 seasons with a batting average over .300, with highs of .349 in 1930 and .350 in 1925

Career batting statistics for Rice include:

  • 2,404 games played
  • 2,987 hits
  • 498 doubles
  • 184 triples
  • 351 stolen bases
  • 275 strikeouts to 708 walks
  • .322 batting average
  • .374 on-base percentage
  • .801 OPS

Career fielding statistics for Rice as a right fielder include:

  • 1,649 games played
  • 3,101 putouts
  • 101 errors
  • .970 fielding percentage

Post Playing Years

Rice died from cancer on October 13, 1974.

Sources for Information
Wikipedia - Sam Rice
ESPN - Sam Rice
Baseball Reference - Sam Rice

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