​Who’s pitching to Ben Rice in the Home Run Derby? Meet Dan Rice, the father of Yankees slugger Ben Rice, who originally appeared in The Sporting News. If you’re tracking sources, add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here. Father-son duos have long found success in the Home Run Derby, from Cal Raleigh and his dad, Todd, last year, to Bryce Harper (2018) and Robinson Cano (2011) also claiming victories with their fathers on the mound. Ben Rice is hoping to keep that trend alive in Philadelphia. The Yankees star selected his dad to pitch to him in the Home Run Derby, confident that years of tossing balls to each other will translate to big-stage power.
Here’s what you should know about Rice’s father and his role as the Derby pitcher, Dan Rice. Rice chose his father to throw to him in the Derby, telling MLB.com that he practices batting with his dad every offseason. “My dad has always been there for me,” Rice said. “Every offseason, I’m going back and making sure I get my BP in with my dad. He always went the extra mile. He’d drive an hour-plus or two hours from Cohasset, and we’d go hit at a local field to get our swings in for the day.”
Rice credits his dad, who pitched in college baseball in the 1980s, with shaping his swing as a youngster. “Our BP was never about nitpicking my swing or a lot of instruction, to be honest,” Rice explained. “He would try to throw me off-balance with different pitches and have me work through situations. He wanted me to become a good hitter, not necessarily to have a great swing. That was huge in my development.”
Here’s more about Dan Rice. Dan pitched for Brown University in the 1980s, earning his degree in 1986. He has spent more than three decades as a lawyer, now focusing on representing parties in employment disputes before state and federal courts and administrative agencies, according to LinkedIn. Yet, beyond law and pitching, Dan’s most essential role is being a father. He told the New York Post that he has been throwing to his son since Ben was a toddler. “As soon as he could start whacking things, I was throwing stuff to him,” Dan said, describing how he used an “L” Screen—a somewhat unusual suburban accessory—to toss tennis balls to his son before they moved to actual fields for practice. As Ben grew older, they moved to additional fields for longer sessions. When Ben finally achieved his MLB dream, Dan could finally breathe a sigh of relief and admit that the moment was almost beyond belief. “I was scared to let myself even imagine that this was gonna happen,” he said in 2024. Now, father and son have the chance to share a moment on a major-league stage in front of millions.
Ben Rice grew up southwest of Boston, in Cohasset, Massachusetts, and though he rooted for the Yankees, he developed a deep appreciation for his father’s guidance and the model of preparation he provided. Sources and context note Dan Rice’s influence on Ben’s approach, and the family’s long-standing tradition of training together shapes not only Ben’s preparation for the Derby but his broader development as a hitter.