Two Princes for the Throne

Boston's Lynn and Rice vie for the Triple Crown

They are crippled with injuries, their fielding is sometimes erratic and their pitching is anemic. So what else is new? The Boston Red Sox, following a tradition they established long, long ago, are simply playing true to form. As ever was, their hitting is marvelous: with a team average of .290, they lead the majors. But September is coming, the cruel month when the Sox usually falter. As the pennant race quickens, and Boston struggles to redeem past failures by overtaking the Baltimore Orioles, the team's batting is extraordinary, even by its high standards, and for two good reasons: a pair of slugging outfielders named Fred Lynn and Jim Rice.

Dubbed "Lightning and Thunder" by Teammate Bob Watson, Lynn and Rice form one of the most powerful duos in baseball history. "It's gotta be the strongest one-two punch since Maris and Mantle," says Baltimore Manager Earl Weaver. Batting third and fourth in the Red Sox lineup, Lynn, 27, and Rice, 26, have been pounding the ball so hard and often that, astonishingly enough, both have a good shot at winning the Triple Crown (leading the league in hitting, homers and runs-batted-in). Last week Lynn was first in hitting with a .347 average, while Rice was second at .335. Lynn's 36 home runs also topped the league, and Rice was right behind with 33. Only California's Don Baylor had driven in more runs (110) than Lynn (106) and Rice (102). There has never been anything quite like it: two men from the same team with such a strong chance of winning the Triple Crown, which was last captured in the American League in 1967 by Carl Yastrzemski, who plays, of course, for Boston.

Lynn has always been a solid hitter, and his classic, fluid swing stirs memories of Ted Williams. What is different about Lynn this year is that he has become a long-ball hitter. Though he won Rookie of the Year and Most Valuable Player honors in 1975, the first man ever to accomplish that in the majors, Lynn had never hit more than 22 home runs until this season. He attributes his increased production to a rigorous body-building program he underwent last winter in an effort to build up his strength and stamina. Says he: "There are no great players who are not strong." The workouts added so much muscle to his 6-ft. 1-in., 190-lb. frame that teammates blinked when he showed up for spring training. Lynn feels his weight-training program will also keep him from tiring during the late season, as he has done for the past few years.

Stamina has never been a problem for Jim Rice, who, at 6 ft. 2 in. and 205 lbs., is one of the most powerful men in baseball. At the plate, looking as confident as a young king, Rice punches at the ball with a short, flat swing. Last year he led the league with 46 home runs and hit .315, a performance that earned him the Most Valuable Player award and a vertiginous seven-year contract worth some $5.4 million. (Lynn still has one year to go on a five-year package worth an estimated $2.1 million.) "Rice can hit the ball out of any park in the country--and that includes Yellowstone,"says Paul Richards, a former Oriole manager and director of player development for the Chicago White Sox. He is exaggerating only slightly. One Rice blast out of Boston's Fenway Park last year hit the ground about 650 ft. from home plate. Rice once checked a mighty swing and had the bat split apart in his hands. Says Mickey Mantle: "I think Rice is probably the guy that could some day beat Roger's 61-home-run record," the feat that Maris accomplished in 1961.

Both Mantle and Maris feel that just as the Yankee outfielders did in their glory years, Rice and Lynn benefit from being teammates, pulling each other on. Says Maris: "When you've got good, strong competition, you drive harder." And just as Mantle and Maris were good friends, the Boston sluggers get along well. Says Lynn: "We just go up there and try to do the job."

Some job. All they have to do is lift the Red Sox past the Orioles, who have the key ingredient that Boston does not: solid pitching. But Baltimore does not have the big bats. This year Boston has two. Lynn and Rice will take a big cut at it.

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