Ben Rice used to hit Red Sox fans with the ultimate Yankees trump card as a kid

New York Yankees ace Cam Schlittler grew up a Boston fan in a passionate and intense hometown. That story is well-documented. The tale that gets a little less run is the story of Ben Rice. We've all seen him in the Yankee jacket as a toddler. How did he manage to persist unsullied in enemy territory for so long? And how lucky/thankful is he that he wasn't quite old enough in 2004 (born in 1999) for the whole thing to damage his perspective and sully his choice/familial bonds?

Rice spoke to Yanks Go Yard ahead of Monday night's Home Run Derby and told us he combatted any heckles he received in school exactly the way the rest of us would've.

"It was always friendly banter," Rice told YGY. "If I wore a Yankees jersey to school or something, I'd maybe get some crap from other kids, but I'd always hit them with the '27 World Championships' and we'd call it a day."

So, yeah. Rice isn't quite the Boston troll that Schlittler is. But it's still an effective method, no matter what Twitter might tell you. No lies were detected, at least.

Rice's family roots will be on display during Yankees' Home Run Derby debut

Monday night will be a special one for Rice, who admitted that left- and right-center might get a workout during his portion of the Home Run Derby, but he isn't sure how many he's going to strike dead central. His dad Dan Rice (shoutout Brown University) will be pitching to him, and if it looks natural ... well, it is. This is no stunt. Rice never aged out of facing his pops and his skill level never got too high. This is every winter in the Rice household, just magnified.

"He always pitches to me!" Rice told YGY. "The only reason he's my pitcher tonight is because he still pitches to me in the offseason. So we'll never get to that point."

Speaking of familiarity, the Yankees closed the first half on a bit of a rhythm, winning four consecutive games - that's one offensive onslaught at the Trop, and three eighth-inning comebacks in DC. Rice went deep in two of those wins, hitting three total homers, but ended the first half in highly uncharacteristic fashion, delivering a surprise comeback blow that wouldn't be nearly as valuable Monday night at Citizens Bank.

"A triple?!" Rice exclaimed. "Yeah, I never go up there thinking I'm gonna hit a triple, but...pretty happy with that."

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