Ben Rice will participate in Home Run Derby, looking to become Yankees' first winner since 2017
Rice, who leads the Yankees with 25 homers, is the second player to commit to competing in the derby. His dad will pitch to him.
New York Yankees slugger Ben Rice will be swinging for the fences in Philadelphia on Monday.
Rice, who leads the Yankees with 25 homers this season, announced Tuesday that he will be participating in the Home Run Derby at Citizens Bank Park.
He’ll look to become the first Yankees player to win the derby since Aaron Judge in 2017.
The 27-year-old Rice said on social media that his father, Dan, who was a pitcher on Brown’s baseball team in the 1980s, will throw to him. Rice said they’ve already been practicing for the contest.
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Rice has 58 homers over his first three seasons in the majors.
This is the second straight a year a Yankees player will appear in the Home Run Derby. Jazz Chisholm Jr. entered last year but was eliminated in the first round.
Judge is one of four Yankees players to win the Home Run Derby. The others are Tino Martinez (1997), Jason Giambi (2002) and Robinson Canó (2011).
Tampa Bay’s Junior Caminero also is participating in the event. The full field has not yet been announced. The Phillies’ Kyle Schwarber and Ben Harper are still deciding whether they will participate.
Baseball's biggest stars are descending on Philadelphia for the 96th All-Star Game at Citizens Bank Park on July 14. Follow all of The Inquirer's coverage here.