Quizzing Pirates’ Rich Hill, MLB’s oldest player, with 18 questions on his loooong career

Quizzing Pirates’ Rich Hill, MLB’s oldest player, with 18 questions on his loooong career

Rob Biertempfel
Mar 10, 2023

BRADENTON, Fla. — When Rich Hill was drafted out of college by the Cubs in 2002, Quinn Priester was a 2-year-old growing up in Chicago. Now a top pitching prospect with the Pirates, Priester never imagined he’d end up sharing a clubhouse with Hill during spring training.

“I vaguely remember him being with the Cubbies, but I really remember him pitching against the Cubbies when he was (with the Dodgers) during those (2016 and 2017) playoff runs,” Priester said. “He’s been around a long time. It’s really exciting to get a chance to learn from him in this camp.”

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Hill, who will turn 43 on Saturday, is the oldest active player in the majors. The left-hander has pitched in more than 600 games if you include his time in the minors, winter ball and a short stint in an independent league. The Pirates, who signed Hill to an $8 million deal in the offseason, are his 12th major-league club.

Priester isn’t the only one with hazy memories about Hill’s soon-to-be 19-year big-league career. With a sheepish smile, Hill confessed he too sometimes has trouble recalling all the details.

“I think one of the reasons I’m still playing is because my memory is so poor,” Hill said. “I’ll have to go back and watch the tape sometime and see if some of those memories come back to me.”

When Hill was a rookie in 2005, George W. Bush was beginning his second term as president, Hurricane Katrina ravaged New Orleans and “Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith” was in theaters. The Cubs were still more than a decade away from ending what became a 108-year World Series drought. The infield shift, now banned by MLB, wasn’t even a thing yet.

Before Hill could plug in his VCR to replay his old games, The Athletic cornered him in the clubhouse this spring at LECOM Park and asked if he was up for a pop quiz about his career.

“Fire away,” Hill said.

 Rich Hill throws a pitch this spring for the Pirates, his 12th major-league team.  (Harrison Barden / Pittsburgh Pirates)

Question 1: Who was the starting quarterback during your freshman year at Michigan?

Tom Brady. Drew Henson was there as well, but Brady was the starting quarterback.

Correct. Brady played in the NFL until he was 45. When he retired after last season, you became the oldest active player in American pro sports.

It’s probably something good in the water in Michigan, I guess. I don’t know. I’ve never really had any interactions with Tom or anything. He, obviously, is the greatest quarterback of all time. Watching him at Michigan and seeing his career, I wasn’t really surprised that he would turn out to be great. It was just the consistency of the way he played at Michigan. That was really it. There wasn’t anything flashy; it was always just down-and-out, 5 yards here and 10 yards there, keep the ball moving.

Question 2: How many times were you drafted?

Three times. I was drafted by Cincinnati … I think it was the 36th round (in 1999) and then (by) Anaheim in the seventh round (in 2001) and by the Cubs in the fourth round (in 2002).

Correct. Why didn’t you sign the first two times?

I wasn’t ready for pro ball — too young, too immature. Going to college definitely helped me a lot. After the Angels drafted me, I really wanted to go back to Michigan to have an opportunity to win and do something special. Unfortunately, that didn’t happen. (In 2002, the Wolverines finished 21-32 and Hill went 3-7 with a 3.54 ERA.) But I still got better that season at Michigan. I started to refine my ability to throw strikes, and learned more about myself. Ultimately, it was the right move.

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So you didn’t pass on the Angels so they’d have more bonus money available to sign Mike Trout?

Well, at that point, he was probably 10 years old, so … no.

(Note: Bonus point awarded for nailing the Trout trivia. Trout was 9 years, 10 months old when the Angels drafted Hill.)

Question 3: You made your major-league debut on June 15, 2005, against the Marlins. Who got the first hit you allowed?

Uh … was it Mike Lowell?

Close, but incorrect. Lowell was in the hole when you gave up a one-out double to …

Oh, yeah, it was Miguel Cabrera.

Yep. Cabrera lined a double to deep right field and Lowell doubled him home. Miggy is 39 years old and still chugging along, just like you.

We’ve crossed paths a few times over the years. Guys our age, we’ve had a lot of mutual teammates. That’s how, if you’re fortunate enough to be in the game for a bit, you end up knowing each other without really knowing each other, if that makes sense.

Sort of a “six degrees of separation” thing linking you to Cabrera?

Exactly. Also, I played one season of winter ball in 2008 (with Tigres de Aragua) in his hometown (of Maracay) in Venezuela. I didn’t play with him, but with a lot of guys that know him and stuff like that. He’s been tremendous for the game and is one of the best hitters of all time.

Question 4: After yielding the double to Cabrera, you recorded your first strikeout. Who was it?

Carlos Delgado. Got him swinging. I ended up playing with him years later in Triple A. What a nice guy. An incredible human being and a good teammate.

Correct. Delgado struck out twice in four career at-bats against you.

Question 5: What is your career-high strikeout game and which team was it against?

It was 13 strikeouts and I believe it was against the Blue Jays — no, excuse me, the Kansas City Royals.

Correct. You set that mark in May 2021 with the Rays.

Question 6: In line with that, against which team did you notch your first double-digit strikeout game?

Cincinnati Reds?

Right division, wrong team.

Milwaukee Brewers … no? Pittsburgh Pirates?

OK, partial credit, with the caveat that you were down to your last strike in terms of guesses. On Sept. 6, 2006, in your second season in the majors, you whiffed 11 Pirates over 7 1/3 innings at Wrigley Field.

I remember that Royals game because I was 41 years old. But I do not remember the Pirates game because it’s too far back.

Question 7: You made your first start on July 25, 2005, against the Giants. Who was supposed to pitch that day for the Cubs?

Kerry Wood. He had shoulder issues going on. I don’t remember anything more than that.

Correct. You got a no-decision against the Giants and went on to make six more appearances (three starts) in your rookie year. At the end of August, Wood had season-ending shoulder surgery.

 Rich Hill, 25, reacts after allowing a home run in his first career start on July 25, 2005. (Jeff Roberson / Associated Press)

Question 8: Whom have you struck out most often?

I don’t know. Pass.

Pass? There is no passing in Rich Hill Trivia. Incorrect answer. Wil Myers has struck out 12 times in 23 at-bats against you.

Oh, Wil Myers. Yeah, OK. I don’t know if I can say I own anybody. It’s tough to get a strikeout in this league. You take them when you get them.

Question 9: Who has hit the most home runs off you?

Miguel Cabrera.

Incorrect. Cabrera has homered once in 19 at-bats against you. Mike Cameron is 5 for 10 against you, but four of those hits were homers. You and Livan Hernandez are tied atop the list of pitchers that Cameron, who hit 278 career homers, took deep most often. There are four other Pirates among his top 12: Paul Maholm (three), Matt Morris, Wandy Rodriguez and Tom Gorzelanny (two apiece).

I guess he just has my number. I played with Mike in Boston (in 2010 and 2011). He’s another great teammate and really good guy. I don’t remember (the homers) because it was a long time ago. I guess he was with the Brewers at the time.

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When you and Cameron were teammates, did you ever ask him why he had so much success against you?

I would now, but back then I never really did. Honestly, a big part of pitching in this league is just being able to stay in the day that you’re in and focused on the task at hand. You can’t focus on like, “OK, he’s got four homers off me. He’s 4-for-10, or whatever.” You’ve got to continuously push the envelope of making pitches, getting guys out and trying to stay on the attack. I don’t really sit there and say, “Why has this guy figured me out?” It might have been a tip or something like that. But if it is, we try to figure that out on our own.

Question 10: Of your new Pirates teammates, who has had the most success against you? Let’s set the bar at a minimum of 10 at-bats.

Easy, Carlos Santana.

Correct. Santana is batting .333 (5-for-15) against you with one homer, Chris Owings is at .267 (4-for-15) with a homer, Andrew McCutchen is at .250 (4-for-16) and Austin Hedges is at .211 (4-for-19) with a homer.

We played together in Cleveland. Carlos is an unbelievably balanced hitter. I’ve been able to see him from his second year in the league with Cleveland up to now and what an unbelievable career he’s had. A great story and the true definition of persistence. What a great signing for the Pirates. I think it’s great for Oneil (Cruz), Miguel (Andújar) and the other Latin guys to have somebody they can look up to. Sometimes, that goes undervalued. We’re extremely fortunate to have Carlos, and we’re all going to be able to rally around each other.

Question 11: You’re one of six players in major-league history to play for 12 or more teams. Who are the other five?

Edwin Jackson is definitely one of them. Jhonny Peralta? No, wait, not Peralta. He played a lot of years (15) but only with (three) teams. Um … I don’t know. Any hints?

Let’s give you partial credit here. You got the easy one. Jackson is the all-time leader with 14 teams. The rest are Octavio Dotel (13 teams), Mike Morgan, Matt Stairs and Ron Villone (12 each).

Question 12: All right, this is a toughie. Can you list the order of teams, including repeats, for whom you’ve played?

Yeah, I think so. Cubs. Baltimore. St. Louis, if we’re including teams I signed with but didn’t play for (in the majors). From there, we go to Boston and to Cleveland. Back to Boston. Anaheim, New York Yankees, Washington. Then from Washington to the Long Island Ducks. (Laughs) Back again to Boston. Then from Oakland to L.A. to Minnesota to Tampa to the New York Mets to Boston and now to Pittsburgh.

Correct. Boom, that was impressive. I can’t remember where I parked my car some days, but you nailed that list pretty quickly and on the first try. You grew up in Milton, Mass. Does that explain all the stops with the Red Sox?

It’s an incredible organization. I’ve gone through a lot of tough times, family situations with the loss of our son, Brooks, two months after his birth. I remember dealing with (Pirates GM) Ben (Cherington) when he was in Boston. The way (the Red Sox) handled the entire situation and the humanity they showed was first class. That matters. They’ve given me the opportunity to play in the big leagues multiple times, and I’m very grateful for that.

 Last season was Hill’s third stint with the Red Sox. (David Butler II / USA Today)

Question 13: In 2015, what franchise record did you tie with the Long Island Ducks?

Strikeouts. I had 14 strikeouts in six innings against Camden.

OK, you got the nature of the record correct but are slightly off on the total. It was 17 strikeouts. You weren’t in the Nats’ plans that year, but the Red Sox indicated they were willing to take a flier. You opted out of your deal with Washington and pitched in two games with the Ducks of the independent Atlantic League. Tossing 11 scoreless innings with the Ducks kept you in shape until Boston found a spot for you on its roster.

Question 14: In 2016, you got your only Opening Day assignment. How did that come about?

Sonny Gray got sick (food poisoning), so I got a call from (A’s manager) Bob Melvin. He said, “Hey, can you start today?” and I was like, “Yeah, absolutely! Opening Day? No problem.” I remember hitting the first batter (Adam Eaton) with a fastball and I was like, “Oh, boy, here we go.” So, yeah, the Opening Day nerves were definitely there. We lost that game, but the rest of the season ended up going pretty well.

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Correct. You allowed four runs (two earned) over 2 2/3 innings in a 4-3 loss against the White Sox on Opening Day, and finished that season 12-5 with a 2.12 ERA. 

Question 15: How many postseason appearances have you made?

Twelve.

Actually, it’s 13.

Well, 12 starts.

OK, point taken, but still only partial credit. Anything stand out about your three World Series outings?

A lot of guys go their whole careers and never get to pitch in one. I feel fortunate, being able to play the game as long as I have. But, really, it’s about getting to the postseason, making starts in the postseason and pitching in the World Series. We were just talking about it today in the outfield while we were shagging. Postseason baseball is the reason why I play and why I signed here. There’s a great opportunity for something special to happen here. I really do believe that.

Question 16: How many of your former teammates are Cy Young Award winners?

Good question. Three?

Incorrect. It’s six: Greg Maddux, Corey Kluber, CC Sabathia, Rick Porcello, Clayton Kershaw and Jacob deGrom. 

Wait, it should be seven. Didn’t Chris Sale win one? He was one of the first ones that came to my mind.

Upon further review: Incorrect again. Sale, who was your teammate in Boston, finished among the top six for the American League Cy Young each season from 2012 to 2018, but never won the award.

Question 17: What’s the only ballpark that your 11-year-old son Brice has not yet visited?

That would be the Reds’ ballpark, and we’ll get there this year. Having him around when I’m playing has been quite an experience. He loves the game. The guys in every locker room — L.A., Minnesota, Tampa, Boston, New York and now Pittsburgh — have been incredible. It’s been great, exposing him to the game so he can see the professionalism and the work that goes into every day. That’s something that will teach valuable lessons, whether he sticks with baseball or does something else.

Correct.

Question 18: After a tough outing in the 2018 NLCS, what did you destroy in the Dodgers’ dugout?

A box of Hi-Chews. Yep, yep. I felt bad, because those are good candies; I actually enjoy them. After that, guys kept making jokes on the days when I pitched: “Get all the candy out of here!”

Correct. The Pirates do not have Hi-Chews in their dugout. Even if they did, though, Hill had vowed to never again take out his frustration on tasty snack items.

Final tally: 11 correct, four incorrect, three partial credits and one bonus point that Hill can bank if he ever plays Mike Trout Trivia. Not bad.

(Top image: Sean Reilly / The Athletic / Photos: Brynn Anderson / Associated Press; Jonathan Daniel and Jim McIsaac / Getty Images) 

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