Boston slugger Jim Rice was lauded yesterday by Red Sox GM Theo Epstein, who called the new Hall of Famer an inspiration.

AP / G. Paul Burnett

BOSTON — Red Sox general manager Theo Epstein couldn’t attend yesterday’s news conference announcing Jim Rice’s election into baseball’s Hall of Fame. He was busy in meetings as he continues to prepare the club for the 2009 season.

He arrived after Rice had already made his comments. Epstein had a brief conversation with president/CEO Larry Lucchino before he began to tell his own Jim Rice stories.

Epstein grew up a Red Sox fan and would attend games at Fenway, not knowing that one day he would become the GM of his favorite club and help the Sox become World Series champions.

The Sox’ GM recalled yesterday one of his first recollections of Rice. It was during the summer of 1982 when an errant foul ball struck and injured a young boy behind the Red Sox dugout. Rice jumped out of the dugout to help the boy get immediate attention in the team’s clubhouse.

Epstein, just a boy himself, witnessed the entire thing.

“He was my favorite player growing up,” he said. “I was at the game when that kid got smoked by the line drive behind the first-base dugout. We were in the grandstand and he was in the box seats. No one knew what to do and out popped Rice. He climbed into the stands, got him and brought him down to the clubhouse. For a young kid that made a real impression on me. It seemed like a larger than life-type guy.”

Now that he’s GM of the Red Sox, Epstein has gotten to know Rice on a personal level and he couldn’t be happier for him.

“I’ve been rooting for him even more that he would get to experience this day,” added the GM. “I’m thrilled for him. He was always the first guy I would check in the boxscore every morning. … He’s a great guy. It’s always nice when the people you grew up rooting for as players turn out to be good people, as well. He certainly deserves it.”

Rice isn’t afraid to talk about the contracts that players today earn. He’s also not shy to say that if he was playing today and was in his prime, he would garner a huge salary.

“And yes, today I would be making $27 million,” Rice said half-jokingly yesterday.

Lucchino and Epstein both laughed after Rice made the comment.

“He’s a guy [that] teams, any day and any age, would like to put in the middle of their lineup,” Epstein said. He was a slugger with incredible power. He was one of the most feared guys throughout his whole career. His career was a prime. He didn’t hang around long after his skills started to decline. His entire career was a prime performance. He was a slugger. He wasn’t up there looking to draw walks. He did some serious damage, especially the stuff early in his career was incredible.”

When he learned Rice had finally been elected into the Hall, Epstein felt a sense of satisfaction, too.

“He was dominant,” Epstein said. “And to do the whole thing in a Red Sox uniform means a lot to us as an organization. It would have been a terrible injustice if he did not get in.”

jmcdonal@projo.com