85% season-shape match
Why he matters right now
Ben Rice is top-10 in the majors in home runs, total bases and runs
He is 6th in home runs at 37, 7th in total bases at 276, 8th in runs at 94 — placements on MLB's own season boards, which rank every QUALIFIED hitter in the sport rather than the few dozen this site tracks. Qualified is MLB's own bar, and it is the reason a part-season player with a big number is not on these boards at all.
The story changed tonight — this page led with a different case yesterday.
The case in 30 seconds
- 37 6th in home runs at 37, 7th in total bases at 276, 8th in runs at 94 on MLB's season leaderboards MLB season leaderboard (the league's own top-10 board of qualified players, not this site's roster)
- .259 .877 OPS, 37 home runs, 89 RBI and 3 stolen bases over 141 games snapshot batting board — the union of MLB's top-10 hitting boards, then MLB's 3.1 PA per team game rule applied; not the league's full qualified pool
The honest caveat
It is still a partial season — 608 plate appearances so far. A rate moves fastest against the strongest arms a schedule has left, and the schedule ahead is not the schedule behind.
What to watch next
Next up: vs New York Mets.
Every claim above, with its source (2)
- 6th in home runs at 37, 7th in total bases at 276, 8th in runs at 94 on MLB's season leaderboards MLB season leaderboard (the league's own top-10 board of qualified players, not this site's roster)
- .877 OPS, 37 home runs, 89 RBI and 3 stolen bases over 141 games snapshot batting board — the union of MLB's top-10 hitting boards, then MLB's 3.1 PA per team game rule applied; not the league's full qualified pool
The evidence
What changed last night
1 HR, 1 RBI
W 6-4 vs New York Mets · 2026-09-11
carries a .259 average into today
What to watch next
vs New York Mets
Yankee Stadium · 1:35 p.m. ET
Facing Zac Thornton
Ben Rice faces a left-hander in Zac Thornton. He is hitting .254 with 10 home runs in 185 at-bats against left-handers this season.
Situational splits
| Split | AB | AVG | HR | RBI | OPS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| vs RHP | 343 | .262 | 27 | 62 | .923 |
| vs LHP | 185 | .254 | 10 | 27 | .789 |
| Home | 240 | .246 | 19 | 41 | .882 |
| Away | 288 | .271 | 18 | 48 | .871 |
| Day | 180 | .244 | 15 | 37 | .902 |
| Night | 348 | .267 | 22 | 52 | .864 |
2026 season, MLB Stats API. A split with no plate appearances is omitted rather than shown as zeroes.
141G
528AB
137H
.259AVG
37HR
89RBI
3SB
222B
33B
.877OPS
Chasing .400
.259Current AVG
124Consecutive hits needed to reach .400
115-for-100Needed over next 100 AB
1.778Rest-of-season AVG to finish .400 (96-for-54)
Status: IMPOSSIBLE
Milestone tracker
| Chase | Target | Current | Pace | Needed from here | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| .350 AVG | .350 | .259 | .259 | 1.241 ROS | IMPOSSIBLE |
| .380 AVG | .380 | .259 | .259 | 1.574 ROS | IMPOSSIBLE |
| .400 AVG | .400 | .259 | .259 | 1.778 ROS | IMPOSSIBLE |
| .406 AVG | .406 | .259 | .259 | 1.852 ROS | IMPOSSIBLE |
| .466 AVG | .466 | .259 | .259 | 2.500 ROS | IMPOSSIBLE |
| 50 HR | 50 | 37 | 41 | 13 in 15 g · 1 per 4.1 AB | EXTREME |
| 60 HR | 60 | 37 | 41 | 23 in 15 g · 1 per 2.3 AB | EXTREME |
| 62 HR | 62 | 37 | 41 | 25 in 15 g · 1 per 2.2 AB | EXTREME |
| 70 HR | 70 | 37 | 41 | 33 in 15 g · 1 per 1.6 AB | EXTREME |
| 73 HR | 73 | 37 | 41 | 36 in 15 g · 1 per 1.5 AB | EXTREME |
| 200 Hits | 200 | 137 | 151 | 63 in 15 g | EXTREME |
| 225 Hits | 225 | 137 | 151 | 88 in 15 g | EXTREME |
| 250 Hits | 250 | 137 | 151 | 113 in 15 g | EXTREME |
| 262 Hits | 262 | 137 | 151 | 125 in 15 g | EXTREME |
| 50 SB | 50 | 3 | 3 | 47 in 15 g | EXTREME |
| 80 SB | 80 | 3 | 3 | 77 in 15 g | EXTREME |
| 100 SB | 100 | 3 | 3 | 97 in 15 g | EXTREME |
| 130 SB | 130 | 3 | 3 | 127 in 15 g | EXTREME |
| 50 2B | 50 | 22 | 24 | 28 in 15 g | EXTREME |
| 60 2B | 60 | 22 | 24 | 38 in 15 g | EXTREME |
| 67 2B | 67 | 22 | 24 | 45 in 15 g | EXTREME |
| 20 3B | 20 | 3 | 3 | 17 in 15 g | EXTREME |
| 25 3B | 25 | 3 | 3 | 22 in 15 g | EXTREME |
| 36 3B | 36 | 3 | 3 | 33 in 15 g | EXTREME |
| 125 RBI | 125 | 89 | 98 | 36 in 15 g | EXTREME |
| 150 RBI | 150 | 89 | 98 | 61 in 15 g | EXTREME |
| 175 RBI | 175 | 89 | 98 | 86 in 15 g | EXTREME |
| 191 RBI | 191 | 89 | 98 | 102 in 15 g | EXTREME |
How likely is the finish?
35%finishes with 40+ home runs
0%finishes with 50+ home runs
0%finishes with 60+ home runs
His rate of 60.860 home runs per 1,000 plate appearances is read as 55.110 after regressing toward the league's 30.170 — a leaderboard selects for players who have outperformed, so an unregressed rate projected forward overstates every one of them. That puts the expected finish at 39.8, against a straight team-game pace of 41. Exact beta-binomial over 62 remaining plate appearances, averaged across playing-time scenarios. Calibrated against Retrosheet finishes: within 7 points of observed frequency in every band, and within 2 in three of five. It is a model, not a measurement.
Home run pace vs the benchmark seasons
46.0%of comparable chases reached 40 HR
0.0%of comparable chases reached 50 HR
0.0%of comparable chases reached 60 HR
Empirical: seasons within ±2 HR of his total at the same team-game checkpoint (n=302); median finish 39. Retrosheet.
Recent game log
Derived nightly from the snapshot ledger — each row is the difference between consecutive days; multi-day rows are labeled.
| Date | Opp | Result | AB | H | HR | RBI | R | SB | BB | K | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-09-11 | New York Mets | W 6-4 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .259 |
| 2026-09-10 | Colorado Rockies | W 10-3 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .256 |
| 2026-09-09 | Colorado Rockies | W 6-1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .256 |
| 2026-09-08 | Colorado Rockies | W 5-3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | .258 |
| 2026-09-06 | San Diego Padres | L 3-4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | .259 |
| 2026-09-05 | San Diego Padres | W 5-1 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | .261 |
| 2026-09-04 | San Diego Padres | L 2-3 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .257 |
| 2026-09-01 | Los Angeles Angels | W 7-3 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .253 |
| 2026-08-31 | Los Angeles Angels | L 1-10 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | .252 |
| 2026-08-29 | Boston Red Sox | L 0-6 | 9 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | .254 |
Recent highlights
Lahman + Retrosheet context
How this season fits history
Through 147 team games; 64 in 2001