Posted on 08/21/2009 9:10:53 PM PDT by nickcarraway
Red Sox Hall of Famer Jim Rice today criticized the approach current major leaguers have to baseball, telling youngsters at the Little League World Series that players such as Manny Ramirez set a "bad example."
"You have these baggy uniforms, you have the dreadlocks, that's not part of the game," Rice said after mentioning Ramirez, who played for the Red Sox for nearly eight seasons. In the same breath, Rice mentioned New York Yankees Alex Rodriquez and Derek Jeter as he described a baseball culture dominated by huge contracts and the accoutrements of wealth, with players more interested in Rolex watches than the game.
"What you see right now is more individuals, it's not a team," said Rice, a newly minted hall of famer who played for the Red Sox for 15 years. "Now you have guys coming in, they pick the days they want to play, they make big money."
"The first thing they see are dollar bills."
Rice made the pointed comments during a pre-game talk to all 16 teams that were about to start play in the annual Little League World Series, including a squad from Massachusetts, the Peabody Western All-Stars. Beyond the criticism of current players, his talk included practical advice.
"Work on the weakest part of your game," Rice said. "Johnny Pesky hit me ground balls every day."
Rice also urged the youngsters to look beyond athletics.
"You are a child of someone, you are not a professional baseball player now," Rice said. "You may be one day, but the first thing you need to have right now is respect."
(Excerpt) Read more at boston.com ...
Manny, A-roid...agree with Rice.
Jeter, no, even though I hate the Yankees.
Rice was totally out of line when he mentioned Jeter. I can see trashing A-Rod and Manny because they made the steroid list. Trashing Jeter IS insane. Derek has always played the game the right way He plays hard, plays hurt, and never takes a game off (in a bad way). I have a lot of respect for Rice, but he is 100% wrong when he says that Jeter sets a bad example. Totally wrong. And, as I mentioned on a previous thread, Jeter ain’t gonna wait 14 years for his HOF induction like Rice did, so Rice had better get used to the fact the Jeter will be sitting along side of him at future HOF ceremonies.
Ditto.
exactly!! the haters might not agree with us but Jeter has always conducted himself in what I consider a professional manner, even when he was a younger kid getting exposed to all the pro sports world can throw at a kid. when rice ran his mouth in late ‘75 following Lynn’s MVP and ROY awards being given to Lynn, because he was a white player, instead of Rice himself, who did have a case with his own ‘75 numbers, because he was black.....plus he accused the red sox of pushing Lynn over himself for the race reason also.
Hey Jim, have riods effected your mind?
Derek Jeter? Rice can’t be serious about that one.
He’s making himself look like a fool.
Carlton Fisk once signed a 1975 Topps for me. It's among my proudest possessions. That card was from the year he waved the home run fair in the World Series. Bobby Doerr and Pesky were great guys to the fans, as were Lonborg, George Scott, Petrocelli, and Dwight Evans. Fred Lynn started signing pink pieces of paper after people started selling his cards. He always gave the autograph, but on pink paper.
I've always thought of Rice as a jerk. And you all notice that he didn't criticize active Red Sox players like David Ortiz. I'm no Yankee fan, but how exactly has Derek Jeter ever harmed the game?
Rice sounds like a cranky old man. Jeter was a terrible example for him to use.
"What you see right now is more individuals, it's not a team," said Rice, a newly minted hall of famer who played for the Red Sox for 15 years. "Now you have guys coming in, they pick the days they want to play, they make big money."
"The first thing they see are dollar bills."
I think I see why Rice is so cranky - - today's players are zillionaires and he thinks he missed the boat by a mere 30 years or so. He's probably running camps to make ends meet.
Derek Jeter is a sure-lock Hall of Famer once his career is over. Not only did Jeter “come through in the clutch” in critical situations, but he is still much-loved by the often viciously critical New York City area sports reporters. Just the latter is good reason why the Baseball Writers of America will vote him in on the first ballot in a near-unanimous vote.
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