Tonight former Cub Rich Hill faces his old team in the National League playoffs. Everyone is like, “Rich Hill? THAT guy who used to be a Cub? HIM? #CracksKnuckles #BringIt”
What can I tell you about Rich Hill?
1) Fun autograph
He has a snappy autograph. He uses the bridge in the H to dot the i.
2) A weird 2007 year for the Cubs
He was a Cub from 2005 to 2008. In his third year with the club, he had a very odd statisical year.
- 6th in the NL for most Hits per 9 IP
- 8th for most Strikeouts per 9 IP
- 9th for most Hit by Pitch
Weird. players either got hits off him, or struck out. Or got hit by a pitch from him.
What a freaking weird year for him.
3. Released 14 times
From 2005 to 2016, teams let him go 14 times.
- February 2, 2009: Purchased by the Baltimore Orioles from the Chicago Cubs.
- November 3, 2009: Granted Free Agency from the Cubs.
- June 30, 2010: Granted Free Agency from the St. Louis Cardinals.
- November 6, 2010: Granted Free Agency from the Boston Red Sox.
- December 12, 2011: Granted Free Agency from the Boston Red Sox.
- November 30, 2012: Granted Free Agency from the Boston Red Sox.
- October 31, 2013: Granted Free Agency from the Cleveland Indians.
- March 24, 2014: Released by the Boston Red Sox.
- July 1, 2014: Purchased by the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim from the Boston Red Sox.
- July 9, 2014: Released by the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.
- October 30, 2014: Granted Free Agency from the New York Yankees.
- June 24, 2015: Released by the Washington Nationals.
- November 2, 2015: Granted Free Agency from the Boston Red Sox.
- August 1, 2016: Traded by the Oakland Athletics with Josh Reddick to the Los Angeles Dodgers for Grant Holmes (minors), Jharel Cotton and Frankie Montas.
Only one of those 14 involved a trade. The rest was released to free agency or simply released. The Cubs even sold him to the Orioles (I’m not sure for how much).
4) A number collector
Look at all of Rich Hill’s uniform/numbers! It’s like he collects them. After his second stint with 51, that he was like, “aww screw it, just give me any number.”
That’s what I have for Rich Hill: Fun autograph. A weird 2007 year for the Cubs. Released 14 times. A number collector.
He’s also had a pretty good 2016… so far.
I’m so glad we managed to get past the Dodgers series, despite an incredible once-in-a-lifetime performance from Rich Hill. Now worth three-year, $48 million.