By Alfredo Di Cesare
03 Oct 2024, 16:38 PM EDT
At a New York Yankees press conference, Ben Rice stole the show. The rookie, who curiously speaks perfect Spanish, revealed his Latin tastes in music and food and generated laughter in the room.
Rice, went viral after experiencing a particular and funny moment at the conference with the media. A reporter questioned him about his musical and culinary tastes, but focused on Latin.
The player did not hesitate to answer kindly and confessed that Eladio Carrión and Bad Bunny were his favorite Hispanic artists. In this sense, he also declared himself a fan of stewed chicken, rice and rice pudding.
“I like the music of Eladio Carrión and Bad Bunny. As for food, I like stewed chicken or something with rice. Rice pudding because I am the rice,” he said while attracting laughter from the journalists.
Later, he was asked about a specific song that he liked. Rice took a few seconds of silence to think and ended up taking out his cell phone to check the playlist. “I like Callaita,” he said. He even dared to sing it for two seconds.
The video was published by the New York Yankees TikTok account and has already accumulated more than 700,000 views and more than 110,000 likes. The particular moment has gone viral and has awakened the sympathy and acceptance of the Latin community in the United States for the rookie.
Who is Ben Rice?
Benjamin Kimball Rice was born on February 22, 1999, Cohasset, Massachusetts. He is 25 years old and works as a first baseman and catcher.
He was selected by the Yankees in the 2021 MLB draft. On June 18, 2024, he made his Major League debut. He was promoted from the Minors due to Anthony Rizzo’s eight-week injury. Rice had his first hit against the Orioles’ Albert Suárez and also drove in his first run against Baltimore.
Why do you speak Spanish?
The rookie surprised everyone a few weeks ago, during an interview in Spanish, Luis Rojas revealed that the first baseman confessed to having learned it during school.
“Rice speaks Spanish, it surprised us all. “He says he learned it at school, but it seems he had a girlfriend who spoke it (Spanish),” he said.
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