If you look at the Major League statistics, Ben Rice ranks third in home runs. Naturally, fans expected him to put on a show in the Home Run Derby against the other seven exceptional hitters competing for the title. But regardless of how good you are with the bat, getting booed by more than 40,000 fans is bound to be a nightmare for anyone. Much to everyone’s surprise, Rice was not one of them. In fact, he had a completely different reaction to the hostility from the Phillies fans. 

“That was sick. Just getting to be out there with my dad and, you know, just hearing all the boos and everything,” Rice said, as per SNY Yankees on X. “I just tried to take it all in. It was so fun.”

Ben Rice was one of the eight participants present in Philadelphia for the Derby on Monday. However, the event didn’t turn out to be very fruitful for him. The league recently changed the format, introducing a 20-pitch first round for each participant. The top four sluggers with the most home runs then advanced to the semifinals.

Given that Rice has hit 29 homers for his team this season, there was a lot of hope surrounding him. Unfortunately, he was able to hit only 7 homers in the tournament, with 4 home runs coming on the first 10 of his 20 swings. His sixth homer was the longest, sitting at 443 feet. Overall, he finished last on the list of eight participants and was eliminated after the first round.

However, he had a completely different perspective of himself before going out there. 

“I’ll tell you what, I didn’t realize how out front my first swings were going to be. I was in the cage, and I was like, ‘I’m going to hit 20 home runs. I’m on fire right now,’” he added. “And then I took my first one, and I was like, ‘Oh my god, I’m just going so fast right now.’”

Irrespective of the disappointing last-place finish, the 27-year-old admitted that his adrenaline was on a whole different level while he was hitting the balls on the field. 

Previously, Jordan Walker admitted that he felt nervous with all the people booing him from the stands. However, he managed to win the whole thing, outscoring Kyle Schwarber and shutting down the fans in his own way. 

“I was once told you don’t boo nobodies,” Walker said after the win, and Ben Rice echoed the same. 

“The boos were crazy, especially during the opening ceremony,” he added. “It was so cool. I always like the saying, ‘they don’t boo nobodies.’”

Now that the event is over, Rice, instead of remembering the fans for their hostility, will embrace the boos as a form of recognition. That will surely help him when the New York Yankees visit the Phillies in late July.