Every once in a while, baseball delivers a tale so perfectly woven with nostalgia, rivalry, and a hint of mischief that it feels destined for the sport’s folklore. The New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox have spent more than a century writing chapters of heated competition, heartbreak, and heroics—but every now and then, a new anecdote emerges that captures the spirit of this legendary rivalry in a fresh, unforgettable way.

Enter Ben Rice, the Yankees’ rising star and one of the most electrifying young hitters in the game today. While his bat has been making headlines all season, it turns out Rice’s connection to the Yankees-Red Sox saga runs much deeper than his recent on-field exploits. Long before he was launching home runs in pinstripes, Rice was a young fan with a rebellious streak growing up in the heart of Red Sox country, dreaming of making his mark in the baseball world—perhaps in more ways than one.

This week, a childhood story resurfaced that not only adds a new layer to Rice’s legend but also offers a playful reminder of how the roots of rivalry can shape a player’s journey. In the timeless battle between Yankees and Red Sox, some legends are born with a Sharpie in hand.

Young Yankees star Ben Rice once lived every fan’s dream by defacing Fenway Park

Kansas City Royals v New York Yankees Kansas City Royals v New York Yankees | Sarah Stier/GettyImages

The best hitter in baseball and the New York Yankees’ most impressive prize of the young season was also, once upon a time, the sneakiest child in Massachusetts.

We’ve heard tell of Ben Rice’s childhood Yankees fandom before, going against the grain in his oppressive home state. Rice’s past as a Cohasset, MA punk was especially relevant last summer when he slammed three home runs off Boston at Yankee Stadium, derailing some Red Sox momentum after a brutal Clay Holmes blown save the night before. The photo of a baby-fied Rice in a Yankees jacket and hat amid his Sox-clad siblings will live in infamy forever, as long as he continues to build on his recent heater.

And so will this story.

Rice spoke with MLB’s Anthony Castrovince this week and revealed that, as a child, he snuck away from a Fenway Park tour and scrawled, “Yankees Rule!” on the famed Pesky Pole. Odds the graffiti is still there/hasn’t been painted over are +1,000,000, but it’s certainly the thought — and the retelling of the tale — that counts.

Ben Rice wrote graffiti on Fenway Park’s Pesky Pole, reading “Yankees Rule!” Hero. King him.

Rice recovered from a HBP injury scare over the weekend to drill a home run in his first at-bat back against the Guardians on Tuesday, adding a scorched RBI single in Wednesday’s series-ending victory. After the Yankees entered the season with much consternation about who would be their unconventional leadoff hitter most often between Austin Wells and Paul Goldschmidt, it’s actually been Rice fairly often lately as the team settles into a groove.

If young Rice was anything like young me, he probably wrote his graffiti message in exceedingly tiny letters so no one would ever notice, defeating the point entirely. It’s good to hear that he’s finding his voice these days, though, and is confident enough in his power surge to live his truth.

Now, it’s actually partially up to Rice to determine whether or not the Yankees do, indeed, rule, and it seems likely they’ll be trying to fend the Red Sox off all summer long. It’s nice to have a lifelong fan (with a rebel streak) on your side in that particular fight.