Rice deserve to be in. His career was hampered by two broken wrists, but for a ten year period he was the dominant offensive force in the AL. Yhe NL had Schmidt and Dawson, but Rice was the premier slugger in the AL. He led the league in total bases three years in a row. Not too many guys have done that. In 1978, he topped 400 total bases. That had not been done since Joe D. did it in 1937 (41 years). Here's the big surprise though.No AL player, even in the steroid era, has topped 400 total bases in the 27 years since 1978. It's only been done 4 times in the NL --twice by Sosa (steroids?) and once each by Helton and Larry Walker (Both benefited from the Colorado effect).
As for Rice being a prick, he just bristled at the intrusiveness of the Boston Press, and he paid the price for it in the papers. He never had a problem with teamates. He played the game the right way. He ran out grounders, and he was an underrated although not a graceful fielder. He was compassionate. I remember him going into the stands and carrying out a fan who had been struck by a line drive foul ball. He carried her into the clubhouse for medical attention. I remember him picking up Jerry Remy and carrying him like a child to the clubhouse when he hurt his knee at home plate. I also remember him going into the stands after som Yankee fans grabbed his hat. All in all, he deserves to be in Cooperstown.