Dick Berardino, who presented Red Sox shortstop Jed Lowrie with the Lowell Spinners Distinguished Alumni Award named in his honor tonight at the Double Tree Hotel in downtown Lowell, knew Jim Rice was a major-leaguer the moment he first set eyes on him.
Berardino was Rice’s first manager in the minor leagues at Williamsport in the New York-Penn League in 1971. Rice, the Red Sox’ first-round draft pick that June, was elected to the Hall of Fame earlier today.
“My first impression was that he was one of the strongest 18-year-old kids I’d ever seen,” Berardino said. “He could hit a fastball, too, and you can’t teach anyone how to hit a fastball. He couldn’t hit a curveball with a paddle, though, and he still wasn’t hitting them at the end of the season. But you can always learn to hit a curveball, and he did.
“He had a great work ethic, too,” Berardino continued. “He scuffled in the outfield at first, but he made himself a better outfielder as the season went on.”
Rice’s numbers at Williamsport weren’t flashy. He hit only .256 with five homers and 27 RBI in 60 games.
“But there was no doubt in my mind he was going to be a major-leaguer,” Berardino said.
Rice hit .291 with 17 homers at Class A Winter Haven the following year, then swatted 27 homers and won the Class AA Eastern League batting crown with a .317 average in 1973.
At age 21 Rice won the Class AAA International League Triple Crown, hitting .337 with 25 homers and 93 RBI and finished the 1974 season with the Red Sox, with whom he spent the remainder of his career.
“That gives me two players I managed in the Hall of Fame,” Berardino said proudly.
Berardino managed Wade Boggs at Elmira in the NY-PL in 1976.
Former Red Sox star Rico Petrocelli, who also attended tonight’s banquet, was thrilled to see Rice get elected. Petrocelli played with Rice from 1974-76.
“I’m very, very happy for him,” Petrocelli said. “I has been a long wait. But the main thing is that he did get in.
“One of the great things about him was that he didn’t only put up big numbers. I’m sure there were times when he was hurt, but he played every day and never made excuses. He was a great teammate.”
Petrocelli was the third baseman when the Red Sox won the pennant in 1975 and rookies Rice and Fred Lynn were dubbed “The Gold Dust Twins.”
“Jimmy had power, great power,” Petrocelli said. “But he was also an outstanding hitter. Freddie was the MVP in ‘75, but Jimmy was a very big contributor.”
Rice hit .309 with a team-leading 22 homers and 102 RBI that year before Detroit’s Vern Ruhle broke his hand with a pitch late in the season. Rice missed the ALCS and World Series.