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Rich Hill Shines For The Red Sox

By Liam Skiffington |

Rich Hill was born here. Raised here. Grew up here. A graduate of Milton High School in Massachusetts, Hill dreamed of becoming a Major League pitcher. After being drafted by the Cincinnati Reds in 1999, Hill elected to attend  the University of Michigan.

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The 6-foot 5-inch left-hander was a fourth round draft selection by the Chicago Cubs in 2002. He made his debut in 2005 and stayed with the Cubs through their 2008 season, while helping them reach the NLDS in 2007 as well.

Hill’s career in the Major Leagues was different from those of other pitchers. Hill was a starter for the Cubs during the 2006 and 2007 seasons as well with Baltimore in 2008. Hill has made 199 Major League appearances, 72 of them have been starts.

In his 11-year career, Hill owns an ERA of 4.64, not that good of a mark. But what most didn’t think about Rich Hill is that he does have swing-and-miss stuff, punching out 8.7 batters per nine throughout his career.

In 2010, Hill had to undergo season-ending Tommy John surgery to repair the torn ligament in his left elbow. Following the procedure, Hill did not make another Major League start. He bounced around in the Majors for teams looking for relief help, but didn’t have that much success.

2015 came around and Hill signed a Minor League contract with the Washington Nationals. He was released about two months later after posting a 5-4 record of 2.83 ERA ball in the International League.

Deciding that his career was not finished, Hill went to the Long Island Ducks of the Atlantic League. There, he made two starts going 1-0 with 21 strikeouts in 11 innings without allowing a run.

Noticing Hill’s success was longtime scout David Scrivines. Scrivines has been in the scouting business since 1996, where he started as an associate scout with the Colorado Rockies. A scout for Independent League for the Red Sox since 2006, Scrivines scouted Hill and reported back to the Red Sox, who then signed him to a Minor League deal.

“Hill’s command and pitchablity in his two Atlantic League starts was impressive” noted Scrivines. “Past history plays a role in these types of transactions, but Hill earned the opportunity. It’s been fun seeing the success he’s had in both Triple-A Pawtucket and in Boston with our big club. It’s a tribute to his work ethic and attitude to get back to the big leagues.”

Hill pitched for the Red Sox in 2010, 2011 and 2012. He may be pitching himself into a new contract with Boston for next season. In two starts with Boston, Hill is 1-0 with a 1.93 ERA. He has 20 strikeouts in 14 innings pitched while striking out 12.9 per nine innings.

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