Ben Rice is elated to be a Yankee and already making an impact

Aaron Boone and the New York Yankees made a bold move by calling up No. 12 prospect Ben Rice to help replace Anthony Rizzo. Rice repaid them almost immediately.

The 25-year-old catcher and first base prospect who lit Triple-A on fire for 11 games need just two at-bats to produce his first major league hit against the Baltimore Orioles on Tuesday.

Calling Rice giddy over that moment would be the understatement of the century.

Rice didn't even make it to first base before an enormous grin broke across his face. That's pure baseball joy right there folks.

We all may get used to seeing grizzled veterans go about their business in the big leagues. It's nice to see the youthful exuberance of someone living out their dream.

Ben Rice wastes no time rewarding the Yankees faith in him

Rice wasn't really on the radar for the Yankees this year until he got a shot in Triple-A and went wild. He had done well against lower-level competition, but no one could have foreseen him slashing .333/.440/.619 with an OPS of 1.059 in 11 games for Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.

An injury to Rizzo because of a collision running to first base opened the door for Rice to make his major league debut. The Yankees could have played it safe and moved DJ LeMahieu to first base with Oswaldo Cabrera taking on a bigger role at third. But neither of those infielders have been hitting well this season. With the best record in baseball and room to experiment, New York decided to see what they have in Rice, whether his future is in pinstripes or as a trade chip at the deadline.

Rice when 1-for-3 in his first at-bats. He flied out in the second inning. In the third, he singled to load the bases. Jose Torres rewarded him for that effort by hitting a sacrifice fly to bring Alex Verdugo home from third as the Yankees took a 3-0 lead.