Rich Hill
At age 41, Hill has emerged as a leader of the staff of the defending American League champion Tampa Bay Rays. Standing on the mound as the key player in a World Series title run would be the capstone to a truly singular career.
Although he debuted with the Chicago Cubs back in 2005, Hill’s career has been a virtual hegira. Since that debut he’s worked 144 games at Triple-A, one at Double-A, a dozen at High A, two at Class A, two in an independent league, nine games in foreign leagues, and – incongruously – two games of Rookie ball. As a result, although he has played during 17 different seasons, 2021 is only his fifth full MLB season.
Hill is enjoying the renaissance. He’s 4-2 through 11 starts with a 3.32 ERA and challenging that whippersnapper, Tyler Glasnow, for the status of staff ace. He is on pace to work about 150 innings, which would be a personal best since 2007 when he was with the Cubs.
The Rays obviously have the team to get to the World Series; it’s basically the same bunch that got them to Game 6 just last season. Their 35-20 record is just off the 40-20 pace they set in 2020.
So it’s not hard to imagine old-timer Hill out there on the mound this fall as the Rays try to wrap up the first World Series title in franchise history. The tougher part, actually, may be envisioning Rays manager Kevin Cash actually letting Hill work deep enough into the game to attain hero status.