Red Sox reliever Rich Hill pitches in game for 20th season in row

Rich Hill of the Boston Red Sox has taken the mound for 20 consecutive seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB).

Hill took the mound in a home game against the Toronto Blue Jays in the MLB regular season on Friday, entering the game in the top of the 7th inning with two outs and a runner on first base, with Boston trailing 0-2. Despite it being his first appearance in about 11 months, he pitched 1⅓ innings, striking out two of the four batters he faced without allowing a hit or a run. Boston lost the game 0-2.

With this appearance, Hill has pitched in 20 consecutive MLB seasons, starting from his debut with the Chicago Cubs in 2005. From 2016 to 2019, he played alongside Ryu Hyun-jin with the Los Angeles Dodgers. After becoming a free agent (FA) with the San Diego Padres last year, Hill received offers from three teams at the end of the season but declined them. Until recently, Hill was working as a coach for his son Bryce's Little League team.

Boston, aiming for a postseason berth, signed a minor league contract with Hill on Aug. 18 to strengthen their left-handed bullpen and called him up to the MLB on Wednesday. Hill, the oldest active player in MLB, said after the game against Toronto, "Many people ask, 'What's the secret?' The answer is simply hard work. I worked diligently every day, thinking of it as filling a basket one drop at a time." As of the game against Toronto, Hill has appeared in 383 MLB games, with a record of 90 wins, 73 losses, and an ERA of 4.01.


Heon-Jae Lee uni@donga.com