No one ever questioned where Jim Rice got his power.
One look at his stocky frame and massive arms and you knew why the Red Sox slugger launched many of his 389 career home runs over Fenway Park's Green Monster, seemingly with a flick of the wrists.
No one ever accused Rice of taking steroids and when he finally went into the Hall of Fame in 2009 in his 15th and final year of eligibility, there was not a smidge of taint to the election.
However, next year's Hall of Fame ballot will offer two candidates without the pristine resume of Rice.
How HOF voters view Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens may be one of the more intriguing sports storylines of early 2013, and the debate has already begun.
Rice, who is in the Lehigh Valley Sunday to participate in the fourth annual BEST Scholarship Organization Celebrity Reception at the Sands Casino and will play in the BEST golf tournament on Monday at the Bethlehem Golf Club, has been outspoken about steroid users getting in the Hall of Fame.
But he says it all comes down to proof, something that was proven to be elusive in the recent Clemens trial.
"If you have evidence that the guy was using steroids, he shouldn't be in the Hall of Fame," Rice said in a phone interview. "But if there is no evidence of use, he should be allowed. Other than that, you can't worry about it."
As for the cleanliness of the game today, Rice believes it's getting better and feels the commissioner and the owners need to stay vigilant in their examinations of players.
"Give them physicals every year and check everything," he said. "The average baseball bat weighs only 32 ounces. Why do you need steroids to swing a bat like that? Why do you need steroids when some fences are only 320 feet away and even some high school kids can hit the ball 400 feet because they're working out? No one needs steroids."
When Rice's Hall of Fame call finally came three years ago, he felt more relief than exuberance.
"When I played I never thought about the Hall of Fame, I never even dreamed about it," Rice said. "But after you retire and you're turned down so many times, people talk about it and it's a big relief when you get in. When the day comes, it hits you that you're among the best players to ever play this game.
"For me to wait so long was not a disappointment because I spent 15 years in the big leagues and I didn't spend one day thinking about the Hall of Fame. I don't think anyone I know who played the game thought about it. You realize that the Hall of Fame is not in your own hands; it's in somebody else's."
What's in Rice's hands now is how to enjoy his post-baseball life. He does it well without fretting about what happened in 1975 when a broken hand kept him out of the World Series and the 1986 Series when his team was one out away before it all came apart at Shea Stadium.
"It's like Satchel Paige used to say, 'Don't look back because somethting might be gaining on you,' " Rice said. "You can't change the past. I was lucky to play for 15 years, help my team get to two World Series. I can't complain."
Now at age 59, he looks forward to playing golf and spending time with his family, especially his five grandchildren.
"I was lucky enough to play baseball for more than 20 years, because I was also a batting coach and instructor after I was done playing," he said. "So, you're talking about a lot of summers that you never had to yourself. Now, it's nice to be able to relax and do the things you want to do."
He still does a lot of charity events with the Red Sox and occasional TV work for NESN, and while he follows the team, he admits to keeping his distance in the Boston suburbs.
"I don't particularly enjoy the traffic getting in and out of the city," he said.
Being an American Leaguer, he doesn't know much about playing in Philly or the Lehigh Valley. He spent his entire career in Boston where says the fans are passionate about their teams and favorite players and are still kind enough to give him a job when he's around.
But when he gets together with several dozen former big leaguers and pro athletes Sunday and Monday, he'll feel right at home.
"Jim's a great guy and a good friend and he did it the right way," said Steve Braun, who won a World Series ring with the 1982 Cardinals, but played 10 American League seasons on teams that competed against Rice.
Braun and Rice will probably have a nice chat during their stay here, but with Rice the competitive juices will still flow.
"I can hit the ball a long way, but you've got to keep it straight," he said. "Those golf balls can get expensive when you keep losing them."
BEST Scholarship Gala and Golf
When/Where: Sunday night at the Sands; Monday at the Bethlehem Golf Club.
What: More than 30 former athletes including ex-Phillies Jim Eisenreich, Steve Braun, Ozzie Virgil Jr., Tommy Herr, Tommy Greene, Art Mahaffey and Dickie Noles and other ex-MLBers such as Jack Fisher, Joel Bennett, Tracy Stallard and Tito Landrum will participate to raise funds for the BEST Scholarship program.
What's BEST: A 501c3 non-profit organization dedicated to "finding students in need of financial assistance to fulfill their dreams and goals of obtaining a college education."
