Rich Hill is on his way to becoming a real Bartolo Colon.
The veteran left-hander Hill, who just joined the San Diego Padres as part of a big trade-deadline deal, spoke with reporters this week for the first time as a Padre. During the media session, Hill made a clear statement about his MLB future — that he is far from finished.
“[I have] all intentions of playing next season,” said the impending free agent Hill, per Justice delos Santos of MLB.com.
Hill, now 43, is in his 19th MLB season and took over as the oldest player in the league upon the retirement of Albert Pujols last season. Although Hill was drafted during George W. Bush’s first term and now has his fastballs clocked by a calendar, he remains an effective pitcher. Relying on deception and a solid groundball rate, Hill has made 79 total starts over the last three years combined with an ERA of 4.25 and at ERA+ of 100 (right at league average). That is very serviceable as a back-end-of-the-rotation option.
It is not all that uncommon for MLB pitchers to keep going into their mid-40s, even in the 21st century. Colon, Tim Wakefield and Roger Clemens all pitched in the league until 45, and the likes of Randy Johnson and Jesse Orosco even made it to 46. Hill “only” turns 44 next March and still has plenty more antics on the mound left to offer.
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