Rice opens up: It can't get any better than that

Jim Rice was the happiest and proudest man in Fenway Park on Tuesday night when his No. 14 was added to the Nos. 1, 4,6,8,9 and 27 and 42 on the right field facade.

He was also the most honest.

“I never thought I’d go to the Hall of Fame,” Rice said in a post-ceremony press conference. “I knew I had pretty good numbers but I didn’t think my numbers would be good enough for the Red Sox to retire my numbers. I think it’s up to the owners if they want to retire your number, isn’t so it’s up to them.”

With names like Yaz, Dewey Evans and Fred Lynn sitting in white folding chairs up the first base line, Rice also gave thanks to the organization, starting with owner John Henry.

“The Red Sox gave me the opportunity,” Rice said. “They drafted me and took a big chance with me. They could’ve drafted someone else. It took me four years to get to the big leagues. I to the big leagues and played 15 years. And by having your number retired with some of the greats up there, Hall of Famers, and you played for this organization and still working for this organization, it can’t get any better than that.”

“When you think about being the category with Williams and Yaz and playing your entire career in one city and to be able to be in the Hall of Fame with two other left fielders, that’s a lot,” Rice added.

But his maybe the most heartfelt thoughts on this night were for Johnny Pesky, the man who dropped the red cape from the placard to reveal No. 14. And the man who first taught him what he really needed to succeed in the bigs.

“He made me grow up and take charge of myself and say it’s your responsiblity. What you put out there as far as working, that’s what you’re going to get back. If you never work, you’re not going to better yourself and you’re not going to get anything out of it.”

The irony wasn’t lost on Rice that he was holding a press conference in front of the Boston media that he supposedly despised over the years. He said that story has been mis-represented over the years.

“I didn’t have any trouble with the media,” Rice said. “The media just didn’t understand me. And understanding of me is do not ask me about my teammates. I don’t speak for my teammates. I’m not the type of the guy who’s going to say anything bad about my teammates. I didn’t live with those guys.

“You have some players who can play here in Boston and some players can’t play in Boston and you know who they are and I’m not going to name them now. But some guys can play in front of a big crowd and some guys can’t. I don’t think it’s any pressure in terms of media if you’re going out and doing your job and doing the small things to win ball games, the media’s not going to bother you. If it bother’s you too much, just say, ‘Hey, I’m not going to talk.’ You can do it in a nice way, just let it go.”