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Ben Rice is killing it.
If the 2026 American League MVP voting were held today, the New York Yankees first baseman would likely be a finalist for the award, as the 27-year-old has become a budding force for the Bronx Bombers. Here’s Rice’s 2026 campaign in numbers:
1: Rice leads the Yankees in hits (62), doubles (15), runs batted in (44), total bases (132), runs scored (46), batting average (.300), on-base percentage (.393), slugging percentage (.638), OPS (1.031) and OPS+ (184).
2: His .638 slugging percentage, 1.031 OPS, 184 OPS+ and .435 weighted on-base percentage rank second in the MLB, according to FanGraphs.
2.7: Rice’s 2.7 offensive WAR (wins above replacement) has him in a three-way tie with Miami Marlins shortstop Otto Lopez and Detroit Tigers rookie infielder Kevin McGonigle for seventh in the MLB.
5: The number of three-plus-hit games Rice has this season.
16: The number of multi-hit games Rice has this season.
[What’s Next: For Aaron Judge, The Yankees And The AL MVP Race]
17: Rice is tied with Yankees superstar and three-time American League MVP Aaron Judge for the team lead with 17 home runs, who are tied with Atlanta Braves star first baseman Matt Olson for fifth in the sport.
40: The number of games Rice has recorded a hit this season.
44: Tino Martínez hit 44 home runs in the 1997 regular season, which was the most home runs in a single season by a Yankees first baseman since Lou Gehrig hit 49 home runs in both 1934 and 1936 (Gehrig also hit 47 home runs in 1927 and 46 home runs in 1931); Rice is on pace to hit more home runs than Martinez did in 1997 and is on pace to challenge Gehrig for the franchise’s all-time record for a first baseman. Of course, Rice, who has made 34 starts/37 appearances at first base for the Yankees this season, has been the team’s designated hitter in 19 games.
90: Rice’s average exit velocity of 92.3 mph ranks in the MLB’s 90th percentile, according to Statcast.
91: His 50.7% hard hitting percentage ranks in the 91st percentile in the sport.
95: Rice’s 17.1% barrel percentage ranks in the 95th percentile in MLB.
Watch Rice and the Yankees take on the AL East rival Boston Red Sox at Yankee Stadium on Saturday, which can be seen at 7:35 p.m. ET on FOX and the FOX Sports app.
