Jim Rice’s advice to Little Leaguers — keep it old school.
Talking Friday to the players in this year’s Little League World Series, Rice got the day started with a resounding criticism of the current generation of big-leaguers. There’s too much focus on individual goals and getting big contracts, he said.
“We didn’t have the baggy uniforms. We didn’t have the dreadlocks,” said the former outfielder who played 16 seasons in Boston, batting .298 with 382 homers before retiring in 1989. “It was a clean game, and now they’re setting a bad example for the young guys.”
Rice said today’s major-leaguers fraternize with each other too much on the field, adding that while today’s ballplayers might be in better shape than his generation in its heyday, they get injured more frequently.
“You see a Manny Ramirez, you see an A-Rod (Alex Rodriguez), you see (Derek) Jeter . . . Guys that I played against and with, these guys you’re talking about cannot compare,” Rice told the Little Leaguers.
