Jim Rice, baseball's newest Hall of Famer, held court at the cafeteria at the Little League World Series in Williamsport, Penn., on Friday. His message: Don't follow the example of some of today's major leaguers.
According to The Associated Press, the legendary Red Sox left fielder told the game's future stars that today's best are too focused on money and individual goals.
"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 reportedly said to Little Leaguers.
Rice urged the children to take a look back to his era, when it was a different game.
"We didn't have the baggy uniforms. We didn't have the dreadlocks," said Rice, who hit .298 in his career with 382 home runs. "It was a clean game, and now they're setting a bad example for the young guys."
Rice still believes a few players in today's game such as Ken Griffey Jr., Ichiro Suzuki and Jim Thome are worthy of Cooperstown.
