BOSTON The best thing Jim Rice did in a Red Sox uniform probably won’t be mentioned on his Hall of Fame plaque. It doesn’t show up in his statistics or support his stature as one of the dominant hitters of his era. Twenty-seven years ago, the Red Sox slugger climbed out of the dugout and into the stands at Fenway Park to help get an injured boy the urgent medical care he needed. Rice’s quick actions saved the 4-year-old boy’s life, his family and doctors believe, and belied the surly persona that kept Rice waiting for the call from Cooperstown for 15 years.

NEW YORK—Rickey Henderson sped his way into the Hall of Fame on the first ballot, and Jim Rice made it in on his 15th and final try. Henderson, baseball’s career leader in runs scored and stolen bases, received 94.8 percent of the vote from the Baseball Writers’ Association of America, well above the 75 percent needed, and the 13th vote ever for a player in his first year on the ballot.