Scott Adam Rice (born September 21, 1981) is an American former

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Modern professional ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

. A first-round draft pick in the

1999 MLB Draft The 1999 First-Year Player Draft, Major League Baseball's annual amateur draft of high school and college baseball players, was held on June 2 and 3, 1999. A total of 1474 players were drafted over the course of 50 rounds. First round selections ...

, his career was slowed by injuries. He pitched in minor league baseball for 14 seasons before his first promotion to

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

(MLB) in 2013. He made his MLB debut with the

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. They are one of two major league ...

on April 1, 2013.

Career

Rice attended Royal High School in

Simi Valley, California Simi Valley (; Chumashan languages, Chumash: ''Shimiyi'') is a city in Simi Valley (valley), the valley of the same name in the southeast region of Ventura County, California, United States. Simi Valley is from Downtown Los Angeles, making it ...

. He played for the high school baseball team as a

. The

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. As one of the American League's eight charter ...

drafted Rice in the first round, with the 44th overall selection, of the 1999 Major League Baseball Draft. He played in minor league baseball for the Orioles organization through 2005, reaching

Class AA Double-A (officially Class AA) is the second-highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States since 1946, below only Triple-A. There are currently 30 teams classified at the Double-A level, one for each team in Major League ...

, then signed with the Texas Rangers in 2006, reaching

Class AAA Triple-A (officially Class AAA) has been the highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States since 1946. Currently, two leagues operate at the Triple-A level, the International League (IL) and the Pacific Coast League (PCL). ...

. He made only eight appearances in 2007 due to injury, and had surgery on his

flexor tendon A flexor is a muscle that flexes a joint. In anatomy, flexion (from the Latin verb ''flectere'', to bend) is a joint movement that decreases the angle between the bones that converge at the joint. For example, one’s elbow joint flexes when one ...

in 2008. Rice returned to baseball pitching in independent leagues, playing for the Long Island Ducks in 2008 and the

Newark Bears The Newark Bears were an American minor league professional baseball team based in Newark, New Jersey. They were a member of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball and, later, the Canadian American Association of Professional Baseball. T ...

in 2009. He then pitched in the Colorado Rockies organization in 2010 and for the Chicago Cubs in spring training in 2011, but was released. Rice joined the

York Revolution The York Revolution is an American professional minor-league baseball team based in York, Pennsylvania. It is a member of the North Division of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball, an independent "partner league" of Major League Baseba ...

of the Atlantic League in 2011. During the season, the

Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Established in 1883 in the city of Brooklyn ...

signed Rice and assigned him to their Class AA minor league team. The Dodgers invited Rice to spring training in 2012, but he did not make the team, and was instead assigned to pitch for the

Albuquerque Isotopes The Albuquerque Isotopes are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Colorado Rockies. They play home games at Rio Grande Credit Union Field at Isotopes Park in Albuquerque, New Mexico, at an e ...

of the Class AAA Pacific Coast League (PCL).

New York Mets

Invited to spring training by the

in 2013, Rice made the Mets' Opening Day roster, the first time he was named to an MLB roster after 480 appearances in 14 minor league seasons. He made his MLB debut on April 1, 2013,

striking out ''Striking Out'' is an Irish television legal drama series, broadcast on RTÉ, that first aired on 1 January 2017. Produced by Bl!nder F!lms for RTÉ Television, ''Striking Out'' stars Amy Huberman as Dublin-based solicitor Tara Rafferty, who is ...

Nick Hundley Nicholas John Hundley (born September 8, 1983) is an American former professional baseball catcher and current front office executive. He is currently a special assistant to the general manager for the Texas Rangers. He played in Major League Ba ...

and

Cameron Maybin Cameron Keith Maybin (born April 4, 1987) is an American former professional baseball outfielder and current broadcaster. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Detroit Tigers, Florida / Miami Marlins, San Diego Padres, Atlanta Brave ...

and retiring

Will Venable William Dion Venable (born October 29, 1982) is an American professional baseball coach and former player. He is the associate manager of the Texas Rangers of Major League Baseball (MLB). He played in MLB as an outfielder for the San Diego Pad ...

on a ground out in one inning of work. Rice made 73 appearances, and recorded a 3.71

earned run average In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number ...

(ERA). After struggling through the start of 2014 season, pitching to a 5.93 ERA and 1.98

walks plus hits per inning pitched In baseball statistics, walks plus hits per inning pitched (WHIP) is a sabermetric measurement of the number of baserunners a pitcher has allowed per inning pitched. WHIP is calculated by adding the number of walks and hits allowed and divid ...

in 32 appearances, the Mets demoted Rice to the Las Vegas 51s of the PCL on June 23. He underwent elbow surgery in July to remove a bone spur. The Mets removed Rice from the

40-man roster A Major League Baseball roster is a list of players who are allowed, by league agreement, to play for a Major League Baseball (MLB) team. Each MLB team maintains two rosters: an active roster of players eligible to participate in an MLB game, an ...

after the 2014 season, making him a

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

. Rice re-signed with the Mets on a minor league deal with an invite to spring training in December.

Arizona Diamondbacks

Rice signed a minor league contract with the

Arizona Diamondbacks The Arizona Diamondbacks (colloquially known as the D-backs) are an American professional baseball team based in Phoenix. The Diamondbacks compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. The ...

in December 2015. He was released on May 9, 2016.

York Revolution

Rice resigned with the

of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball. This marked Rice's return to York for the first time since 2011. He became a free agent after the 2016 season.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Rice, Scott 1981 births Living people Aberdeen IronBirds players Albuquerque Isotopes players American expatriate baseball players in Canada Arizona League Rangers players Baseball players from California Bluefield Orioles players Bowie Baysox players Chattanooga Lookouts players Clinton LumberKings players Colorado Springs Sky Sox players Delmarva Shorebirds players Estrellas Orientales players American expatriate baseball players in the Dominican Republic Frederick Keys players Frisco RoughRiders players Gulf Coast Orioles players Las Vegas 51s players Long Island Ducks players Major League Baseball pitchers New York Mets players Newark Bears players Ottawa Lynx players People from Simi Valley, California Phoenix Desert Dogs players San Antonio Missions players Sportspeople from Ventura County, California Tulsa Drillers players York Revolution players