The New York Yankees will have one of their own compete in the Home Run Derby.
Ben Rice officially announced on Tuesday that he will compete in the Derby this year, which will take place at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia on Monday, July 13, at 8 p.m. ET, live on Netflix.
The Yankees' slugger will have his dad, Dan Rice, a pitcher for Brown University's baseball team in the 1980s, pitch to him.
Rice has had a great third season in the big leagues. Entering Tuesday, the 27-year-old leads the Yankees with 25 home runs and has slugged 58 long balls over the last three seasons. His 25 home runs this year are also tied with Byron Buxton for the third most in the American League.
New York has certainly relied on Rice for much of this season, with Aaron Judge out since June 2 with a stress fracture in his ribs and Giancarlo Stanton on the injured list since April with a right calf strain. There is still no timetable for their return.
Rice will now join a growing list of Yankees who have competed in the Home Run Derby over the last several seasons. Jazz Chisholm Jr. was the lone Yankee who entered last season but was eliminated in the first round. Rice was also selected to his first All-Star Game this year.
The aforementioned Judge was the last Yankee to win the Derby back in 2017 in Miami, with Gary Sánchez also participating that year.
Along with Judge, four Yankees have won the Home Run Derby: Tino Martinez in 1997, Jason Giambi in 2002 and Robinson Canó in 2011. The Yankees are tied with the Seattle Mariners (Ken Griffey Jr. in 1994, 1998 and 1999, Cal Raleigh in 2025) for the most Home Run Derby winners since the event's creation in 1985.
