Anyone who has been reading Pinstripe Alley for a while knows that I like to talk about arguably the most mundane defensive position on the diamond, that of the first baseman. Much like offensive linemen in the NFL, first basemen only draw attention to themselves when something goes wrong, either when they save an infielder from a throwing error with a nice play or when they cost their team an out by botching a throw. Even then, we tend not to focus on individual plays, but only begin to focus on it when disaster
repeatedly strikes — see, for example, the Jay Bruce experiment at the start of 2021.
Last season, Ben Rice’s play at the cold corner was…I wouldn’t exactly call it disastrous, but it was clear that he had only 99 innings of professional experience at the position heading into the season. I’m not generally a fan of how defensive metrics treat first base — they tend to rate range too highly, which is important, but not that important for first basemen — but Defensive Runs Saved considered him below average, with a score of -2 in 370 innings (for their part, Statcast had him worth a perfectly even 0 Outs Above Average.). Those numbers track the eye test. At times, he looked good, such as when he made this diving stop last May.
And other times, he looked very much like a catcher the Yankees handed a first baseman’s mitt and told, “Go out there, kid.”
Much like spring training, the first week of the season is a time of over-analysis and over-reaction, and this year, Rice’s defense has been one of the bigger stories. The 27-year-old reported to Tampa in January, before the official report dates, making time for extra reps in between work in the batting cage and as a bullpen catcher, and seeking advice from Paul Goldschmidt.
Again, it’s still early, but the immediate returns suggest that this work has paid off. While it’s still too early to talk defensive metrics (although I will say he has been worth 1 DRS), he has put together a nice sizzle reel of plays that he would not have made last season. Speaking to reporters the other day, Aaron Judge highlighted this play from last week’s game against the San Francisco Giants:
Since the Captain brought this play up, let’s break it down. With the right-handed Matt Chapman up at the plate, the defense was shifted to the left, so naturally, Chapman slapped a groundball to the right side of the infield. As you can see from this shot, which is the earliest shot we have of the infield from the broadcast, the ball ended up in No Man’s Land, between both Rice and second baseman Jazz Chisholm Jr. These are, in my opinion, one of the most difficult plays for a first baseman: “Do I go after the ball, or do I trust my second baseman and make a dash for first?”
What impresses me on this play isn’t the fact that Rice ranges so far to his right, and delivers a soft toss to Will Warren covering first for the out. Rather, it’s the decisiveness with which Rice makes the split-second decision; there is no waffling between the two choices, and it’s this decisiveness that allows him to make the play without rushing. He showed this range and decisiveness later in the game, starting a 3-6-1 double play to escape a jam in the fourth.
Like I said earlier, however, range isn’t one of the most important jobs of a first baseman; to that, I give the ability to scoop/corral bad throws — something that Rice wasn’t terrible at last season, but also wasn’t a strength, either. Since Opening Day, though, Rice has made some nifty picks to save his infielders from throwing errors.
On both of these plays, Rice demonstrates picture-perfect form fielding the throw, with his right foot planted on the first base bag, allowing him to maximize his extension. In both plays, this extension is the decisive factor in successfully completing the play — in the first, allowing him to frame the throw as it comes in on a short hop, and in the second, by allowing him to make the catch while staying on the bag to complete the double play.
Just one week in, these results don’t ultimately prove much. Defense is notoriously one of the latest trends to stabilize in a season. Even so, these are some encouraging signs that, although Rice may not be a Gold Glove level defender any time soon, he may not be a liability with the glove this year.
