Boston Red Sox

Watch: Cohasset native Ben Rice belts home run to help Yankees start hot vs. Red Sox

Despite his roots, Rice grew up a Yankees fan in a Red Sox household.

Ben Rice grew up in Massachusetts but loved the Yankees. Danielle Parhizkaran/The Boston Globe

Growing up in Cohasset, Ben Rice gravitated toward baseball at an early age and dreamed of one day playing in the Majors.

Despite his roots, however, the Yankees were his team of choice. Rice had a Derek Jeter poster in his room and wrote “Yankees Rule” on the Pesky Pole, according to The Boston Globe‘s Alex Speier.

Rice attended Noble & Greenough School in Dedham and Dartmouth College, and he played for the Cotuit Kettleers in the Cape Cod Baseball League. He’s since worked his way up to the big leagues and become a steady contributor for the Yankees.

When he got a chance against the team he grew up hating, Rice tattooed the first pitch he saw, smacking a two-run homer in the first inning of Game 2 on Wednesday.

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Rice drove an 87-mile-per-hour Brayan Bello cutter 364 feet to right field, becoming the first Yankee to homer in his first career postseason at-bat since Shane Spencer in 1998.

Rice, who had 26 homers during the regular season, put New York up 2-0.

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