Slow boil

(Correction: Because of a reporting error, it was misstated that Jim Rice was the first player since Joe DiMaggio to record more than 400 total bases in a season in a story on Rice in Thursday's Sports section. Rice was the first American League player since DiMaggio to record 400 total bases.)

FORT MYERS, Fla. -- There are plenty of things Jim Rice would rather do than sit in the lunchroom at spring training and talk about his recurring non-election to the Hall of Fame.

''I never talk about it," he said yesterday as he squirmed in his chair and looked down at his massive forearms. ''I have no say in it. It's not going to do any good. The only thing it'll do is make me worry more than anything else."

In January, Rice was shot down by the Hall electorate for the 12th consecutive winter. He was named on 65 percent of the ballots, 10 percent shy of election. This was supposed to be Rice's year because his total has been on the rise and he figured to benefit from a weak ballot and steroid fallout. He had no comment when it was announced that Bruce Sutter was the only electee (Rice got more votes than everyone else on the ballot).

''I think I was in [South] Carolina," Rice recalled. ''One of my friends told me. I didn't have a reaction. I was playing golf. Either you're going to make it or you're not. I didn't make it. So all of a sudden you look at the people you're up against and the person who went in and it's like, 'I guess he was a more dominant player than I was.' "

We all know Rice was dominant. In his 12 prime seasons, he led the American League in games, at-bats, runs, hits, home runs, RBIs, total bases, slugging, extra-base hits, outfield assists, and multihit games. He was the first player since Joe DiMaggio to amass 400 total bases in a season. He is the only player in baseball history with three consecutive seasons of 35 homers and 200 hits. But his body betrayed him in his mid-30s and it ended too quickly for Jim Ed. He finished with 382 homers, not an overwhelming total for a slugger who couldn't contribute much with his glove or legs.

But Rice believes that domination during a relatively shorter period is more impressive than simply being very good for a long time. This point hits home when he is reminded that he has virtually no chance next year because Cal Ripken Jr. and Tony Gwynn will be added to the ballot.

''Why is Ripken going in?" he asked.

When the consecutive-game streak (2,632) is offered, Rice said, ''Exactly. But would you start your team with Ripken? Can Ripken bat .345?

''OK, now give me Gwynn," he continued. ''Why is he going in?"

Three thousand hits (3,141 to be precise) is a good start.

''How many years did he play? [20] Would you start your team with Gwynn? Case closed. Longevity. That's all it is. Longevity.

''Sutter went in. So, I was compared to Sutter. Would you want to start a game with Sutter or Jim Rice? Is he going to finish 29 games in a row? Is Jim Rice going to play 29 games in a row? Or 162 games? So, are you going to start with Sutter or are you going to start with me? Is Sutter going to drive in 100 runs, hit 30 homers, or get 400 total bases? So, why is Sutter in and I'm not?

''Is it longevity, or dominating? Gwynn didn't dominate nothing. Cal Ripken didn't dominate nothing. If you look at Bruce Sutter, Bruce Sutter ain't dominated nothing . . . If you are talking about guys that are going to the Hall of Fame, what are the criteria? Were you a dominant player? Was it longevity? It all depends on good guy/bad guy, I guess. I have no idea."

Rice was never a Kevin Millaresque go-to guy for the media. He was usually a better interview after a bad day, but often went out of his way to be difficult. It's been suggested that his exclusion from Cooperstown is a result of payback from some of those who were snubbed. Does Rice believe this?

''Maybe," he said. ''But that wasn't the point. The point was, what type of player, regardless of the criteria of good guy/bad guy. The player. You vote on a guy's ability. A lot of guys probably dislike their kids, dislike their wife, but they still go home, don't they?"

Would Rice do anything differently if he could do it over again?

''The only thing I would have tried to do if I had to do it over again would be to work twice as hard," he said. ''That was it. No changes. Anyone that knows me knows you never approach me to talk about my teammates or talk about the front office. You want to talk about how bad I played or how good I played? I'll sit down and talk to you, but when you put me against my team or against ownership, you never get anything from me. If you come to me face-on we're all right, but you try to go behind my back, I'm not going to talk to you. I'm a man, you're a man. Talk straight. Do not come and try to get me to say certain things that you want to say or you want to print. You're not going to make me look bad against my teammates or ownership."

Rice came to Boston in the middle of the forced busing crisis in the 1970s and was not nearly as charming or cooperative as fellow rookie star Fred Lynn. He rejects the notion that being black made life tougher for him in Boston.

''If I felt that way I never would have played here 15 years," he said. ''I didn't see that, my kids didn't see that. I didn't have anything to do with the busing or anything like that. Coming from the south, that was a New England problem, not mine. I was from South Carolina and we got along very well, so I didn't have any problem with that. If I felt it was bad for me I wouldn't be in Boston now."

Rice has three years of eligibility remaining before his name is turned over to the Hall's Veterans Committee. Despite his quarrels with the candidacies of Ripken and Gwynn, Rice won't be elected next year.

The good news is that in January of 2008, Rice's next-to-last year on the ballot, he is likely to be voted onto the island. Shawon Dunston, David Justice, and Tim Raines will be the top new names that year and Rice should vault over the 75 percent total.

''With my luck, nobody will get in that year," he said, smiling and shrugging.