Ben Rice’s path to the major leagues began not with a clear plan for stardom, but with a simple desire to keep playing baseball during an unusual period of uncertainty. As he entered his junior year at Dartmouth in the fall of 2020, Rice was not focused on the MLB draft or imagining himself as a future power hitter. Instead, he was looking for a place to play while the Ivy League remained shut down even as much of college baseball was starting to return to activity.
With organized competition unavailable in his conference, Rice helped create his own opportunity. He teamed up with a few acquaintances from Harvard to organize scrimmages for local college players at a baseball complex outside Worcester, Massachusetts. The informal setup gave athletes a chance to compete, stay sharp, and continue developing during a time when normal seasons and routines had been disrupted.
The scrimmages reflected both Rice’s resourcefulness and his commitment to the game. Rather than waiting for the season to resume, he took action and built a structure for players who needed live competition. That decision helped him maintain momentum at a time when many athletes faced uncertainty about training, exposure, and development.
Rice’s story stands out because it begins in a period when he was not yet widely known as a major power threat. At Dartmouth, he was simply a player trying to find ways to keep baseball in his life. The fact that he later emerged as one of the game’s most intimidating sluggers makes those early efforts even more notable, showing how persistence and improvisation can shape a player’s path.
The account also highlights the uneven return to sports during the pandemic era. While some leagues and schools resumed play, Ivy League baseball remained on hold, leaving players like Rice to find alternatives. By organizing scrimmages, he and his peers created a bridge between inactivity and competition, allowing them to continue improving in a period when many others had no such outlet.
Rice’s journey from a college player seeking games to a feared hitter on the professional stage underscores the unpredictability of player development. His willingness to adapt and create opportunities when none were readily available became part of the foundation for his rise. What began as a practical solution to a temporary problem eventually fit into the broader story of a player whose talent and drive would carry him far beyond Dartmouth.
In the end, the image of Rice arranging scrimmages outside Worcester captures an important part of his rise: a young player who refused to let circumstances stop him from playing. Before the draft attention, before the major-league recognition, and before his reputation as a fearsome slugger, he was simply finding a way to stay in the game.
