Rich Hill is back in the Major Leagues. The Boston Red Sox added the 44-year-old veteran pitcher to their roster after a brief stint in Triple-A Worcester on Tuesday, and he made his season debut on Thursday.
Hill made some incredible MLB history when he made his first appearance of the season. He became the only player to appear in at least one Major League game in each of the last 20 seasons from 2005 to 2024. Hill also joined knuckleballer Tim Wakefield (2010-11), Hall-of-Famer Carl Yastrzemski (1983) and Deacon McGuire (1908) as the only players to appear in a game for the Red Sox at age 44 or older.
Coming in to pitch in the bottom of the seventh inning with two outs and a one runner on and the Red Sox down 2-0, Hill quickly got Toronto Blue Jays outfielder Daulton Varsho to strike out on a looping 70 mph sweeper. Hill stayed in the game, pitching a perfect eighth inning, collecting another strikeout to end the eighth.
Despite Hill's perfect 1 1/3 innings, the Red Sox ended up losing 2-0 after being shut down by Blue Jays starter Bowden Francis, who pitched seven one-hit shutout innings.
At 44, Hill does not have a ton of velocity left in the tank. His fastball topped out at 87.1 in Thursday's appearance, but he was able to use a crafty mix of off-speed pitches to flummox the Blue Jays hitters.
What the 44-year-old, 20-year veteran Rich Hill can bring to the Red Sox
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The Red Sox's pitching staff has really struggled during the second half of the season, especially the bullpen. Other than closer Kenley Jansen and setup man Chris Martin, the Red Sox do not have many other arms to turn to in high-leverage situations. Even if Hill ends up just being more of an innings eater instead of someone the Red Sox turn to on a regular basis, he will still be a valuable veteran presence in the dugout.
After Thursday's loss, the Red Sox are currently 3 1/2 games back of the Minnesota Twins for the third American League Wild Card position and desperately need to make up ground with just about four weeks left in the season. If Hill still has anything left in the tank, the Red Sox will need it.
Hill performed well in his season debut on Thursday, and even if he struggles going forward, the fact that he is still pitching at a Major League level at age 44 and in his 20th season is incredibly impressive.
