Jim Rice for the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2008

*Led the A.L. with 382 home runs and 1,451 RBI during his 16-year career, all with Boston.

*The retired players with career home runs and average as high as Rice are Hank Aaron, Jimmy Foxx, Lou Gehrig, Mickey Mantle, Willie Mays, Stan Musial, Mel Ott, Babe Ruth and Ted Williams, all members of the Hall of Fame.

*Seventeen players with 350-plus home runs and a .290-plus average have been on the Hall of Fame ballot, and all but Rice are in the Hall of Fame: Aaron, Cepeda, Joe DiMaggio, Foxx, Gehrig, Al Kaline, Mantle, Mays, Johnny Mize, Musial, Ott, Frank Robinson, Ruth, Snider, Billy Williams and Ted Williams.

*Rice is an eight-time All-Star, had eight 100-RBI seasons, was a seven-time .300 hitter, the 1978 A.L. MVP, six times amongst the top five in MVP voting, more than anybody in history, four times with 39 homers or more, more than anybody else during his career, three-time A.L. home run leader, the only player in Major League history with three consecutive seasons of 35-plus home runs and 200-plus hits (1977-79), the only player since Ruth and Foxx to have three straight 39-homer seasons while batting .315.

*From 1975-86, he was the league leader in games, at-bats, runs, hits, homers, RBI, slugging, total bases, extra-base hits, go-ahead RBI, multi-hit games and outfield assists. He led the majors in five of those categories.

* Discounting his first and final seasons (24 games and 56 games, respectively), Rice's career stretched 14 meaty seasons. Rice is one of only 10 players ever to lead the American or National League in runs, hits, HR and RBI over a 14-year span. He and Rafael Palmeiro are the only players to accomplish the feat who are not in the Hall of Fame.

* Among the eight Hall of Famers on this list, five were elected on their first ballot.

* He's one of only 13 major leaguers have hit .300 with 375 HR and 1,400 RBI in a 14-season stretch and one of only eight players ever to lead the major leagues in hits and RBI over a 14-year span.

* Rice is the only A.L. player in the past 70 years with 400 total bases (DiMaggio, 1937).