Ben Rice’s Dad Will Pitch to Him at the Home Run Derby. That Changes Everything.

Ben Rice is going to the Home Run Derby. And he’s bringing his dad.

The Yankees rookie announced the news on Instagram, and ESPN’s Jorge Castillo confirmed the personal twist: his father will be the one tossing BP under the brightest lights of All-Star week. That detail turns what could have been a standard Derby invite into something fans will actually remember.

Rice earned the spot after getting named a reserve for the All-Star Game. It’s been that kind of year for the kid. The numbers back up the hype — .267/.360/.565 with 25 homers and 57 RBI. That’s not a hot streak anymore. That’s a breakout season happening in real time.

The father-son angle gives this one real weight

The Derby is already high pressure. Loud crowd. Short clock. Every swing under a microscope. Adding your dad on the mound? That raises the emotional stakes in a way that’s hard to replicate. It’s a human moment inside a fireworks show.

Rice has the power to hang with anyone in the field. His swing plays anywhere. But the question is whether he can settle in when the timer starts and the adrenaline hits. Some guys chase the moment. Others let the moment come to them. How Rice handles that split second will determine whether he’s a one-and-done or someone who makes a real run.

For the Yankees, this is another reason to tune in to a week that was already going to matter. Rice has been one of their most dangerous bats all season. Now he gets a national stage designed for exactly what he does best.

There’s a chance he flames out early. A lot of good hitters do. But there’s also a chance he finds a rhythm and turns the whole thing into a statement. The kind of night that makes people remember where they were when Ben Rice introduced himself to the rest of baseball.

His dad will be standing right there if it happens.