On the recently passed date of March 11, Major League Baseball’s second oldest active player turned 41 years old, second only to future Hall of Famer, Albert Pujols. Since Hill’s induction into the Majors back in 2005, it would be far from an understatement to suggest that life since has unearthed unquestionable grief. The death of his son, Brooks, just two months after his wife, Caitlin, had given birth on Boxing Day, 2014, sent shockwaves through the baseball community. An outpouring of love and compassion was received, and through it all shone the resilience of a man who has never given in. Now, as the 2021 season nears, Hill continues his journey on the mound for the Tampa Bay Rays, pitching not just for himself, but for his son, who never got the opportunity to see his Dad play.
It has been two years since the Massachusetts born pitcher fully opened up to the world about the loss of his son in a self-written article depicting the night when he and his wife were told the worst of news. Everything appeared natural, routine, in the days that followed his birth. That is, until the couple were ‘summoned into an extremely depressing boardroom’, as Hill explained. With a mood of distress resonating from the doctor’s faces, they knew something was not right. As a neurologist pulled up a series of brain scans, the news was confirmed. ‘The more we heard, the more our hearts broke.’ A wave of unimaginable pain must have echoed through their bodies. At at a time when they should have been taking Brooks home, they were told; ’Your son has a serious brain malformation’. At 9:35pm on February 24, 2014, Brooks Hill passed away.
Life does not come much crueller. How such elation can transform into such grief in a matter of moments, it simply is not fair. Just six days after Brooks was buried, Hill reported to camp with the Boston Red Sox. ‘I needed to get away. We all did, really.’ It was not a form of distraction, rather a further way of coming to terms with it all. Having flirted with serious injuries for much of his career, including the gruelling Tommy John Surgery in 2011. For pitchers at the elite level, this could be the beginning of the end. Not, as it appeared, for Hill. It is almost as if someone was throwing everything at him in the hope he'd wave the white flag but, from the lowest, darkest moments of his life, he has arisen with such courage and tenacity, like a Phoenix emerging out of the smoky ashes. Having originally converted himself into a relief pitcher following his initial injury, Hill switched back to a starter following his release from Washington. That was to be the catalyst in an otherwise wilting, dwindling career. It was bold and courageous, but it paid off.
It has been a long, fluctuating road for Hill on and off the mound. With his recent move to Florida, it will be his tenth different team. Imagine that, a journey which has seen him pitch for a third of all teams in the entirety of Major League Baseball. From Chicago to Los Angeles, Oakland to Baltimore, Hill has played in just about every climate possible, and seemingly there lies no immediate chequered flag ahead. A mere twenty-four innings away from reaching the momentous 1000 inning mark, life on the mound has been met with an abundance of success. Statistics are only a minor factor of his achievements, as the courage displayed week in, week out, has been nothing short of inspiring. In fact, since the harrowing loss of his son little over six years ago now, his time on the mound has only improved.
From Hill’s debut in 2005 with the Chicago Cubs until his departure from the Cleveland Indians in 2013, the 6ft 5in left armer recorded an ERA of 4.14 in 465.2 innings of work. Following his move to Yankee Stadium in 2014, Hill has since worked 510.1 innings, spawning a remarkable ERA of just 2.23. Of course, there is much more to pitching than Earned Run Average but, when the gulf in numbers is as dramatic as depicted here, it unequivocally illustrates an element of progression. Like a fine Bordeaux red, age only enhances his performance. Perhaps that helped him earn his nickname ‘Dick Mountain’. Yes, an unmistakably amusing form of word play for his birth name but, as time continues to pass, mountains, much like Hill, remain unyielding.
On February 17, Hill signed a one-year, $2.5 million contract with last year’s World Series finalists, the Tampa Bay Rays. Following the departure of former Cy Young Award winner Blake Snell and the ever-consistent Charlie Morton, there lies a rather large void in which Hill will have to fill, as he is expected to slot into a rotation that is already home to the young, yet talented Tyler Glasnow and Ryan Yarbrough. A rich blend of youth and experience could be the necessary ingredients for the Rays to return to the World Series but, for Hill himself, it is more about playing for his cherished son.
“I know our little guy is looking down right now with a big smile on his face. I know that we’re making Brooks proud.”
Whatever occurs in this, his sixteenth consecutive season in the Majors, the inspiring story of Rich Hill will live long in the memory of the sporting family, much like how Brooks will live in hearts of the Hill family for the rest of their lives.
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