Rich Hill has had the journeyman label for most of his 18-year major-league career, suiting up for 11 different clubs. That of course doesn't count the minors, winter ball and a stint in independent ball.
So it was probably a fair question when he was asked if he had ever pitched in Korea or Japan.
"I said, 'not yet,' " Hill told reporters with a smirk at PNC Park Thursday.
The Pirates officially announced the signing of Hill to a one-year, $8 million deal Thursday, giving a young rotation and clubhouse a veteran voice and southpaw. Hill, who will turn 43 before opening day, has been a ball player so longer, that he was drafted for the first time in June of 1999. Six members of the Pirates' current 40 man roster were born after that date: Ji Hwan Bae, Mike Burrows, Roansy Contreras, Tucupita Marcano, Liover Peguero and Endy Rodriguez.
Hill said he had offers from other clubs, but the opportunity and the challenge of being the veteran guy was exciting, and given his previous relationship with Ben Cherington when they were with Red Sox, he chose the Pirates.
"At the end of the day it’s about trying to remove yourself from the outcomes but also understanding that’s why we’re here, to win games," Hill said. "As a concerted effort, as a whole, to understand that staying in the moment is the most important thing that we can do … when I say that, you can look at years past or records past and see might have transpired over the course of a season.
"However, throughout my journeys in this game, understanding the mindset and having the proper mindset every single day, focusing in on the task at hand and the work for the day that has to transpire, is what is ultimately going to end leading to positive outcomes. That doesn’t matter for what locker room that is throughout the league. You can pick any locker room. The team with the right mindset is going to end up being successful."
New Pirate LHP Rich Hill on being the veteran on a young team. pic.twitter.com/54yP31T759
— Alex Stumpf (@AlexJStumpf) January 5, 2023
Hill went 8-7 with a 4.27 ERA and 109 strikeouts over 124 1/3 innings with the Red Sox last season, filling the niche of the crafty veteran lefty. The league-average fastball last year was about 93 mph. Hill hasn't hit that velocity since 2016. You can count on one hand how many times he even hit 91 mph last season.
But since his career revival back in 2015, only 10 pitchers have tossed at least 700 innings and recorded a lower ERA than his 3.32:
STATHEAD
HIll refers to it as the "art of pitching." That 2015 season is, coincidentally, the first year Statcast was readily available, giving teams and fans more in-depth insights into the game. It also, in Hill's eyes, gave extra attention to "throwers," or players who rely on high velocity or spin over feel.
The Pirates have several young pitchers on the roster who have stuff -- Contreras, Burrows, Luis Ortiz and Quinn Priester, to name a few. Part of his veteran leadership role is helping them hone that ability.
“The art form of pitching is why we're doing this,” Hill said. “That makes it fun, new and exciting and also creative. How creative can you be with the baseball?”
For Hill in particular, it's been his feel for his curveball that has helped him have a major-league career that spanned three decades. He first started spinning it at 17 and it's been a work in progress since. It's to the point that he doesn't have a standard curveball, but instead multiple breaking balls that come out of the hand differently based on arm slot or how he grips it.
And it might be more of a "thrower" thing to do to dive into the data on the curve, but a .231 batting average allowed on the curve is proof it still grades as an above-average pitch after all these years.
“The curveball has been an evolving tool for me,” Hill said. “I've been able to be more creative with it every year. It’s always trying new things and trying to see what you can do with it. A lot don’t work, but the ones that do... it's been fun.”
Those different types of curveballs can be just one of the things Hill brings up with the Pirates' staff, which projects to have Mitch Keller, Contreras, JT Brubaker and fellow free-agent signee Vince Velasquez joining Hill in the rotation. That group should get younger as the year progresses since pitchers like Ortiz, Burrows and Priester are projected to be promoted to the majors at some point.
"There’s always been a guy that’s been older who’s consistent about their work habits or goes about their job the right way when they go out there to compete between the lines with a certain intensity and a certain focus that can’t be shaken," Hill said. "I think that’s something everybody needs to learn throughout their career at some point. You can say it but then you show it. The other side of it is going through it yourself and experiencing it. Experience, in my opinion, is the best teacher.”
If experience is the best teacher, Hill is excited to be that guy who imparts lessons onto that new wave of pitching.
"Given the opportunity here and the way the roster is being constructed currently, and what we’re looking forward to coming into this 2023 season is really exciting. That type of challenge is something that I’ve been looking forward to. I believe there are a lot of positive things that are happening here and moving in the right direction for this season, becoming a winning team again."
MORE PIRATE NEWS
• To make room on the roster for Hill, Zach Thompson has been designated for assignment.
Thompson, 29, was one of three players the Pirates got from the Marlins in exchange for Jacob Stallings in November of 2021. He originally started the season as a member of the Pirates' rotation but lost his job late in the year. He went 3-10 with a 5.18 ERA over 121 2/3 innings.
The Pirates' roster is currently at 40, and there are no agreed upon deals that need to be finalized.
• On Wednesday, Bryse Wilson was traded to the Brewers for cash considerations. Wilson went 3-9 with a 5.52 ERA last season and was designated for assignment last week when lefty reliever Jarlín García was officially signed.
