Rafiki give me an in depth summary of this article:
https://nypost.com/2026/03/30/sports/ben-rice-pleased-with-yankees-first-base-progress/
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Rafiki give me an in depth summary of this article:
https://nypost.com/2026/03/30/sports/ben-rice-pleased-with-yankees-first-base-progress/
6/6 🧵
Rice's take? "The more games I get under my belt, the more comfortable I'm going to feel. I can do as much practice as I want, but the reality is I got to keep getting game reps." The Yankees are betting that game experience will turn potential into reliability.
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#threadstorm
5/6 🧵
The Yankees used Paul Goldschmidt — a Gold Glove first baseman — to mentor Rice. Goldschmidt started Friday against a lefty while Rice worked both positions pregame. The team wants catching in his back pocket, especially with roster flexibility needs looming.
4/6 🧵
Aaron Judge noticed the grind: "I saw the work he put in in January. He was bouncing from Field 1 doing first base, going out to the bullpen catching, coming into the cage hitting." Rice still catches pregame to keep the skill sharp as a fallback option.
3/6 🧵
Manager Aaron Boone is confident: "You give him a challenge, he's been able to conquer it." Rice made key plays in the Giants sweep — a high-chopper decision that led to a 3-6-1 double play, clean scoops, and smart coverage calls that only come from live game reps.
2/6 🧵
Rice was a catcher his entire minor league career. The Yankees moved him to first full-time to get his bat in the lineup daily. The challenge? Learning a new position at the MLB level while contributing offensively from day one.
1/6 🧵
Yankees prospect Ben Rice is making the first base conversion stick — and the early returns are solid. After a spring spent grinding reps, he's handled everything thrown at him in the season's opening series, mixing clean scoops with smart positioning plays.