His father and mother drove down Saturday from Coha set, Ma s., and were back at the Stadium on Saturday night to watch Ben Rice play for the third time this week as a New York Yankee, this time against the Braves. I was scared to let Bojan Bogdanovic Jersey myself even imagine that this was gonna happen, Dan Rice was saying over the phone. You always say, I hope it does, ohmigosh wont that be awesome? But Dan Rice never dared to imagine it, never imagined . Yankees first baseman Ben Rice fields a ball hit by the Braves Ozzie Albies to start a double play during third inning action Saturday at Yankee Stadium. Jason Szenes for the New York Post Not long enough to jinx it, right? Dan Rice said. Little Ben started with hockey. He was out in skates at 2, like all the kids, Dan said. We had a little rink in the backyard when it used to get cold enough for that. The baseball dream began not long after. Explore More As soon as he could start whacking things, I was throwing stuff to him, Dan said. Over and over and over again through the years. It started out on a circle at our house, we live in, I call it a dead end, I think most people call em cul-de-sacs, Dan said. I had an L Screen, its kind of an unusual suburban acce sory (laugh) so I could just throw him little tennis balls, then he got old enough wed go down to the Little League field. He grew out of that, wed go to the other fields. Ben Rice visited the Green Monster as a child in conspicuous attire, wearing a blue Yankees jacket. Rices mother, Sarah (third from left), is behind him and brother Sam is next to him with a red Red Sox hat on. Rices father, Dan, is on far right. Courtesy of Rice family I remember it was more than once that Ben would go down and shovel the batting cage. The opportunity to attend Dartmouth steered Ben to baseball once and for all. See Also inside the yankees Hes always been a good hitter, Dan said. What happened, though, is he didnt grow when all the other kids did. He was a late maturer. He got bigger and stronger and all of a sudden some of those balls were going out there. An agent named Pete Mrowka always believed in Ben. He kept telling me he was gonna be a Division I player, Dan said. The Yankees selected Ben in the 12th round of the 2021 MLB Draft. Oh wow, that was such a tremendous day, Dan said, and we were hoping it was gonna be the Yankees. I used to go to the library like a lot of laptop people, right, to spend the day working before the game. So Ben came with me to the Cotuit Library watching the draft. Then he got picked, there was a librarian in there, it was a quiet place except for us (laugh). His grandma came over after he got picked. Ben who went 1-for-3 with a walk and a run scored in the was a Derek Jeter fan growing up. He wore a Yankee jersey to his first-grade picture, Dan said. Dan recalled what they called a Legends Tour at Fenway Park in April 2004, when Ben was 5. Ben Rice cant quite apply the tag quick enough on Jarred Kelenic on Saturday night at Yankee Stadium. Robert Sabo for New York Post Ben went to that wearing a Yankees jacket and a Yankees hat, he said. So I got a picture of him in front of the Green Monster with that. Then they take you down to the Pesky Pole, and they give you a Sharpie or something. Everybody has to sign, thats part of the tour. So Ben (laugh) wrote Yankees Rule. Former Red Sox general manager Lou Gorman was there. Derek Jeters my favorite player, Ben told him. Dan: And Lou Gorman goes, Wow. Well, hes a great player, I wish we had him. The Rice family cheering section went bananas when Ben (.214, .547 OPS) , and got to celebrate with him afterward. Go beyond the box score with the Bombers Sign up for Inside the Yankees by Greg Joyce, exclusively on Sports+. Thank you By clicking above you agree to the and . Enjoy this Post Sports+ exclusive newsletter! I think they made an exception and after people had kinda got out of there we got out on the field, and thats hallowed ground, obviously, Dan said. Get out there with your kid on the field and all that at Yankee Stadium, my goodne s. Dan had the same Major League Baseball dream once. He was a Frank Robinson/Orioles fan. He would pitch at Brown. He is an attorney today. Im from the era where every boy in America, and hopefully thats still true, Dan said, but certainly when I was growing up, that was what everybody wanted to be. The Yankees like Bens makeup the way they like Anthony Volpes makeup. I used to notice, like, when he would do his homework, he wouldnt stre s about it, Dan said. He was nice and calm, and I think you kinda see that in his at-bats. Thats the way he competes, like, I saw him smiling after he got that hit. He is a dialed-in competitor, and he enjoys it. Dan figured that Bens best path to the big leagues would be as a lefty-hitting catcher. Which is where the Yankees envisioned him for a while. Hell go wherever they need him to play, Dan said. Bens brother Sam and Sams girlfriend will be joining the party Sunday. The Rices will go whenever they need to go watch Ben Rice, first baseman, New York Yankees. Cassius Stanley Jersey