No. 2: Washington Senators’ Sam Rice
Years with the Washington Senators: 1915-1933 (19 Seasons)
Key Stats with the Washington Senators: 2307 G, 2889 H, 1466 R, 33 HR, 1044 RBI, 346 SB, 680 BB, .323 BA, 52.9 WAR, -3.5 dWAR, One Top-25 MVP Finish, 1924, 1925, 1933 AL Pennant, 1924 World Series Champion, Hall of Fame
Sam Rice is one of the top five players statistically in franchise history, with his name written all over the record books. One of the first players to go into the Hall of Fame as a Senator, Rice was one of the top three players for the best teams in the Washington era of franchise history.
Rice played for nineteen seasons, second in franchise history behind Harmon Killebrew, and made the most of it. Rice is the franchise leader in at-bats (8,394), runs scored (1,466), hits (2,889), singles (2,194), doubles (479), and triples (183).
He also ranks third in batting average (.323), second in stolen bases (346), and eleventh in walks (680). He never hit for a lot of power, finishing with only 33 home runs, but when you do everything else so well, you don’t really need home runs.
Rice was an above-average defender, recording 4,774 putouts, most in team history. His career dWAR of -3.5 is excellent for someone who played for nineteen seasons and was manning the outfield until they were forty-four. His WAR of 52.9 sits at fourth in team history.
Rice only finished in the Top-25 of MVP voting once, but his impact on his team was massive. Rice led the team to three American League Pennants, one of only two in team history to do so. Rice is a Hall of Famer and a Senators icon and well deserving of the number two spot on this list.