Rich Hill Discusses His Return To Baseball With The Red Sox | Baseball Isn't Boring

bro listen never in my life Associated the word boring with baseball we know we know what's up me yeah famous yeah and I'm like giddy over there there smiling like holy I mean we're about to win this did everyone give you crap give me a good like host story you know I'm like I'm not picking it up no we both love the game we talk about it every day baseball having some popcorn you're ping around your phone i' have to way in line for 3 hours hang on cuz it's about to be a wild ride there's no human being on the planet that I would rather be talking to right now then baseball is in boring family member and now professional baseball player once first time in his life ever been ever collected a check as a baseball player Rich Hill yeah Rob thanks for having me on as always reporting live from uh Nork Virginia things that you never thought you'd say three months ago yeah no this is I mean uh beautiful uh beautiful day here in Nork unbelievable the field is uh Immaculate I don't remember it being as nice as this uh back in the early 1900s but uh you know it's it's uh it's impressive how nice they they have this uh roomed really nice when was a when was the last time you pitched in m in a minor league game uh minus to rehab start yeah I guess well no what what was the last yeah last last time you pitch Rehab start or whatever uh 2015 with Pucket oh man yeah the former triaa affiliate of the Boston Red Sox yeah they didn't even have the the lawn wasn't even mowed back then in minor league Parks it's crazy thow a bunch of thr a bunch of goats out there have them clean up the Outfield then all they trim the D field they trim it with a nice pair of uh hand shares that's right they make the they make the rookies do that um all right yeah travel by candle light all right all right let's get to it um so first of all from everybody here at our family we want to congratulate you um we've talked about this this process and it's not done but still he's you're way down the road on it uh this process and the goal and the the execution of it um you know you you did you did this I mean you've you've signed I assumed you signed you signed a a contract with a major league team uh after most importantly guiding your son and your son's team helping guide I don't want to take any way thing anything away from the Milton coaches you know but helping your team helping being around your son for all those months like it's worked out congratulations been great yeah yeah thank you I mean I you know I think uh obviously to to the coaches um you know from from the summer and and uh you know this this past spring um you know this this summer with with uh uh Zach uh Chris and Pete um you know three other dads and Zach parus was a head coach and just did a tremendous job with organizing and and uh you know holding practices running practices uh organizational skills A+ especially with uh you know and and uh you having the kids attention and being able to keep them engaged focused and uh enjoying laugh thing uh just having fun with with this great game of baseball it was uh you know it was a lot of fun this summer so it was something that um you know I'm extremely thankful for being able to have the opportunity a to be able to do that um and then you know be come through and executed and uh put in the time effort and work to get to this position where I'm at right now and I think with that you know uh my wife Caitlyn and our son Bryce uh being able to have their support and and also um you know see this come to fruition with the aspect of uh going for it right so it's this this idea of not an idea but it's just it's just the the point that I look at it from when you know uh you fast forward maybe the the book into a later chapter in your life and you look back and it's always going to be you know I wish I did that or I wish I did this or should have could have would have that was that's you know that's one of the main um you know goals behind this and the and the driving Factor uh behind getting to this point right now uh because I do truly believe I have something to contribute and you know uh like you said earlier on a few minutes ago we're at this point a little bit later in this process and um it's it's going really well well listen I mean to think that it all started with a Spirit Airlines flight to Fort Meyers in March I mean that's right let's go uh Hey extra leg room extra extra you I think yeah we paid for extra leg room uh we did not pay for your water um so but I I do wanna so before we sort of get into the the go through the timeline in the last couple weeks um overall what was the thing that maybe as we sit here in in case people don't know you've signed a minor league contract with the Red Sox um and and you're in Nork Virginia right now with the Worcester Red Sox uh and you're gonna pitch on Friday still Friday correct Friday Friday okay two or three Innings I think it's two or three Innings on Friday um scheduled yes okay so all of this the whole thing what is the thing that live live bull yesterday sorry we're gonna get to that what the whole thing what was what was the thing for you that you didn't expect like you mapped this out back in whatever it was January or February what was the thing sit here you didn't expect um I think you know one of the thing I don't I don't know maybe a little bit more uh we got to narrow that down um as far as I guess didn't expect um well one of the things with with uh you know the guys that have helped me get here uh with Dewey and Mike reinold from champion and Jason Turner who we've mentioned before and he was on the podcast uh after the um you know ppen session with the scouts um Jason's been incredible and you know I think uh being able to have uh that support from him being able to you know have the willingness and and put in the the time and the effort to uh play long toss to work out with to throw bullpens to uh a lot of this stuff would have been you know uh scrambling on my part trying to find a catcher or you know a solid brick wall somewhere to throw against so um which I have done before uh and you know I think that that having that type of uh um you know help along the way is is certainly a huge uh reason why why I'm here um and was able to get a lot of this done um but as far as you know really the the the biggest surprise I'm not I didn't really see see any I think you know just in the beginning part of this um kind of Journey of of playing catch I think uh surprised at how well I felt when I when I was when I got to a certain point in throw and it was a good barometer and a good kind of marker of uh what was to come and also more of a uh ignition to continue to keep going uh because of that because of the way the ball was coming out of my hand really that was the biggest thing right because you don't know Rich right I mean you I mean you you can prepare and everything else but until you get back yeah you you don't really know like oh am I going to be able to pick up where I left off as a major right yeah and a lot of the stuff that I was doing with uh Mike reinold at at Champion as far as getting my shoulder strength back and and re recouping a lot of that uh you know we could go into you know training age and being able to get back and the more times you work out the faster you can get back there after a a duration of time off and and you know obviously I've been uh benefactor of having uh you know uh many great strength programs over uh the course of my career um but one of them you know being the shielder program that I was able to uh reincorporate and get back into with Mike rold um and get back to that training age rather fast to then have those kind of consisten the consistency of having the ball come out of my hand the way that I want to and also those good feelings um and I think at the end of this it's you know I have no idea what's going to come out of this um but I I do know at the end of it it's it's you know looking back again like I said on on a later chapter in uh your life it's it's kind of like okay you know this is something that I do feel confident about I feel convicted behind and I have the opportunity to do it now so you know if it works out uh which I fully expected to great if it doesn't I'm not going to sit there and say man I wish I you know that was is that going to be you know should I went should I done that could have should have would have and all that stuff I'm not going to play that game um so I think that's something that obviously for me you know fortunately being healthy and also um you know being 44 years old and still getting after it I think that's something that um is you know there's really I guess if you want to say no excuses or whatever there's there's nothing left there's no stone unturned however you say but that's this is the ultimate no regrets year I mean it really is yeah yeah that's that's great so um so to go through a timeline a little bit of a timeline here uh the first week of August I think it was you went down to the cape you had been throwing you're and you know you're obviously coaching your son's team but you went down the cape to to face some Cape League hitters done Falmouth right yes yeah and they have and they have trackman there and they can measure everything you know knowing that there was going to still be sort of an evolution to this were you pretty after you did those workouts down there were you pretty like okay I feel good yeah I was definitely encouraged because the spin rate was there being able to see uh you know vertical uh movement on my fast ball horizontal movement on my breaking ball and then um you know everything was lining up in the sense of uh um this is real like the stuff is there the stuff is real um you know if you want to get nitpicky and say okay well you're a little bit light on the velocity that's always been the case so you know one of the things in contrast now being here and watching last night for the first time I saw a live professional baseball game um you know we had a we had a kaleidoscope of velocities here last night you know guys were anywhere from 86 to 89 uh 95 to to 97 um 92 to 95 so you know on the whole uh I I feel like where where my stuff will play will will to be determined but I think you know from as far as going back into the beginning of August uh into you know Late July when I was throwing these Bens that we were monitoring monitoring and being able to quantify I could see that the numbers were uh relevant and real um you know and and I it just continued to reinforce like hey keep putting in the work keep going after it um everybody's always going to say you know this just natural and human to kind of you know fight that other side of the uh coin or you know the other side of the you know what if what if it doesn't work what you know it's all because it's just you know the main point is to go out there and just do it and go after it and and remove yourself from the outcome and you know we get ourselves in this outcome oriented brain and it just muddies the waters and screws up everything and takes out the joy of actually being in the moment and I think that's one thing that you know for me that I've been able to do really well throughout my career and it's a learned behavior for me anyway for for my own personal uh uh career it's been a learned part of it and I think that's one thing that you know certainly throughout this this whole process um likes to come in and Peak it set every now and then but you know training myself and and my mentality and my ability to be able to stay in the moment uh kind of uh puts those puts that stuff at at Bay for for uh for good so you know rich as we taped this it was your first game time with a team you're back in the Dugout stay sitting in the Dugout for like you said you hadn't seen a professional base game like all year right other than doing other than doing the broadcast the radio broadcast with us um right but but sitting in the Dugout which by the way excellent job but but sitting in the Dugout that must have been an element of that you probably missed like that like it like oh wow it's been a while since did that yeah I mean it's not so much it's just kind of like you know seeing somebody succeed that's that's the cool part because you know it's not just that so many hours and you know again we say I'll say it I've said it before weeks months years decades go into that one swing going into that one pitch so it's not it's not just like you know you see somebody succeed and it's you know seventh inning stretch everybody's eating hot dogs and whatever uh it's it's to me it's like you know you see that like just the I don't want to say it's it's really yes the the final result of a of a process oriented career for everybody because everybody's at different points but when I say like okay whether you know you take the end goal of going to and you reverse engineer it it's not about the end goal at the end the you know that strikeout or whatever it's it's who you've become throughout that Journey so I think that's something that's a lot deeper um you know it's probably too deep but it really is something that when you're sitting there on the do you see that you're like you know you might see see somebody who's 22 hit a home run out to right field um you know a guy who is in their early 30s who's you know um uh putting in the work the time and the effort to get back to the big leagues and somebody who's on the up swing somebody who might be you know everybody's at a different stage of their career coaches who are in different stages of their career the way that you know you can see the conversations that they have with certain players a lot of Stu I observe everything so I'm very very observational even all the way down to the way you know the mannerisms of the Umpire so there's a lot of things that are that are going on that of course I missed and a lot of it comes back just because of you know the um experience of seeing it over the last 25 years of being in professional baseball um so definitely you know guys coming in after a home run high fives and being the excitement the the frust of a strikeout uh you know possibly you know uh you know after a great catch is made um guys coming off the mound after maybe a tough week and striking out the last hitter and seeing that you know how just that release of uh maybe carrying around some some baggage that isn't necessary because they haven't got to that point yet where they're they're experienced enough to understand that it's about how the ball comes out of your hand and not about getting that strike out um so it's you know it's it's a lot of stuff that I would say definitely last night I when I got back to the hotel I was like wow that was a long day especially after throwing a live VP and then you know talking with uh the coaches and other guys on the team and um missing uh that for all a year uh has become something that you know um uh kind of all in one all in one night uh was quite a bit Yeah well let me ask you so go back to you know when when you had the showcase at Champion physical therapy and performance center in walam um the timing of this like actually worked out right so you did the workout you looked good the Red Sox are there you know they're faren away of the people there they were the the most invested they were the most you know and whatever so so you you think that they're going to have interest but you also know that you want to go to that your son's tournament in Cooperstown so it's like okay I want to go to this tournament it's almost like don't give me an offer until until the tournament's over because the the offer comes in I toward basically the day before the tournament's over right from the Red Sox yeah yes yeah yeah that's right yeah and I think um you know we had such a great time in Cooperstown and you know with the kids staying in the bunkers there or the barracks bu the barracks sometimes they felt like bunkers but uh um talking with guys here too that have uh that have played and other uh teammates you know uh texting with other teammates from years past that been like you know hey that was some of the best memories I've ever had on a baseball field enjoy it um you know being able to just be around the kids and see the kids be kids and then see the kids you know also compete on the baseball field and um facing all ranges of talent and being able to now see a little bit different uh kind of okay now you just went from being the best player in your town or you know a group of the best players in your town to all right I gotta do some work I got some work to do because there's other really good players out there um that was pretty cool site to see um you know and it wasn't necessarily uh vocalized or um You Know spoken about but you could see it as the kids were saying wow this guy's got he's got a good fast ball wow that guy could hit wow he's fast it's like you know what other what other process is going on and you know you can see um if that you know is fueling uh kind of that in you know that excitement to get better for the for the for the kid for the player um but then also the other side of it uh going on the Hall of Fame and and you know seeing them get a chance to see some pretty cool memorabilia and artifacts throughout throughout the game of baseball and then statistically listening to um uh you know uh John sh uhy put on a great yeah yeah he he he he put on he put on a great um you know presentation for the boys boys and and just seeing their faces and asking questions about you know the Intriguing uh artifacts that he brought out and also just little pieces of history and statistics on the game that you know we were all kind of astonished by so uh great great week all over all together it's the culmination of a little league career well it's a great week across the board so tell me tell me where you were were you in the barracks like when you get the word I don't know if you get it from your agents or whatever you get the word all right the Red Soxs they're calling yeah I mean I I was yeah I was in the I was in the barracks and I was talking a couple times I talked with uhh brez um you know in the barracks and just uh texting back and forth with him texting back and forth with with our agents and then text calling my agents or our agents and then and then just trying to uh you know fit it in in between game times then also a little bit of uh you know just me mental scrubbing of the brain of trying to uh decompress from a uh Cooper Town Tournament game that uh you know there there were some that got uh very intense and and competitive which I love uh and then coming back to the to the barracks and you know just trying to just figure out where we were going to eat and how we were going to get together as a family um yeah it it was great it was you know again something that but it was you know hey you know Craig I'm gonna call you after our game tonight game gets over at 11:15 p.m. uh hey our game just got over at 11:15 pm. uh I'm pretty exhausted I'm sure you are too so let's talk tomorrow so so what what was it yeah no so you don't have to I mean you can tell me whatever you want but what were those conversations with breslo like well they were great I mean you know we've had a relationship for uh many years now and um you know he I having that relationship obviously is is extremely important to me and I think that also you know on the on the other hand as well um but just the honesty of a discussion and and being able to understand where um you know we were both coming from and and really what uh we you know wanted to have out of this situation as far as having the opportunity but then also being able to have the real opportunity of helping uh the big league club uh achieve uh um success here in in September and you know that's something that obviously I wouldn't be going down this journey or this road if that wasn't something that um you know I saw in you know in the uh in in the you know the forecast ahead of me and something that obviously with that competitiveness that is still very much inside of me and and want to compete at the highest level how's it how's it work like you you talked to breslo a couple times um obviously you know the Red Sox had to have been first priority because you can drive there and uh yeah right well I mean also the other of it too is that they're right in the heat of a wild card race as well I mean and and for all intents and purposes not that far out of a out of the division I mean I think it's right now I don't know what it is seven and a half games or something like that but you never know what can happen so uh I've seen I've I've been on teams where we've been what eight nine games up what was that 201 11 we're eight games up in first place in September um you know I can't say that I was uh I was on the team but I was rehabbing from Tommy John um but I watched the nine game eight game lead in 2011 go away to not even making the playoffs right um in 2011 and that was you know you're nine games up in the division and then kind of a collapse that happens and I think that that can happen with any club at any time at any moment if you obviously let the moment get you well so what what you talk about expectations from both sides we know what your expectations are what what does what do they say I mean they say they obviously well like I think their expect yeah and I think the expectation is fully come up and and help the club uh achieve wins in September that's it and uh I you know in what capacity that is I'm open uh to uh whatever that might be Bullpen starting opener uh however that might be uh you know fit into the puzzle uh we we we discussed that and you know that that's that's probably part of what's going on here is just trying to figure out what role that will be in and how that's going to be uh achieved and uh you know yeah my my expectation is to have the ball come out of my hand the way I want to every time so keeping it small and yeah yeah so when you when you throw when you threw on um for the first time on Sunday in Worcester you I think IAL I talked to you briefly you said even then you like you made they they made a small adjustment to your sweep I butan this is a this is what I love talking to baseball with you because yeah like you're always thinking along these lines um what so already you're you're being put in the lab here and you're like okay you know yeah I and I look at that we talk about the sweeper or you know uh you know a in my opinion it's like a slurve without the depth so it's a it's a slider that comes out of your hand with uh you know um um zero zero uh zero U horizontal movement on the on the scale and and possibly a touch of uptick in the in the vertical of how the ball comes out of your hand um but really that's so how can we achieve to get a little bit more of that flatter horizontal plane on that on that sweeper um and it and it really just has to do with a little bit of a grip adjustment now that's something that I was working on yesterday as well um but I'm always you know I think to stay relevant um you know this is something uh the great John low told me uh one time he said if you ever want to get into uh television radio or uh uh you know the side of uh media and I and I'm uh pretty firm that you understand this as well and and would agree that you have to stay to stay relevant you have to do what the kids are doing or you have to keep up with what the kids are doing you have to read the books that the kids are reading you have to listen to the music the kids are reading as much as you don't like it as much as it is cringeworthy or whatever you have to understand where they're coming from uh because to resonate with a younger group or to stay with a younger group and and to stay relevant is to keep up on those things now let's flip that to a competition side of things and look at it from standpoint of pitching and how can you stay relevant well for me um you know my curveball is always going to be there it's always been there it's why I was drafted it's why I was able to stay in the major leagues for so long uh and have success but there's always something else that you can get better at there's always something that you can improve upon um and you know this might be something that the sweeper that I put into the repertoire but again going back to this opportunity here uh playing if I don't if you don't actually jump in the water go for it you're never going to find out so let's say if I didn't go down that road of trying to throw a sweeper or whatever um or to at least Tinker around with it and you know uh I would never I would never know if it was actually something that I could could put into my uh put in the you know my game plan and the other side of it too is having so many different roles in the major leagues and throughout baseball as far as relieving starting uh you know back end the bullpen front end of the bullpen long relief whatever it might be um dropping down to the side and throwing sidearm just doing that and saying you know what screw it I'm going to do it this is what's going to keep me in the game and and and you know yes A Touch of that survival Instinct kicks in but that's something that I was willing to do and I was willing to try and you know kind of adjust and continuously evolving um you know in this game of baseball I mean I think we're seeing you know a little bit more of that base hit culture come back into the game right so you're seeing guys that are okay you know we're gonna see Louie arise and get excited about a player like that because he creates havoc on the bases but you know he creates problems for the pitcher he can foul off every pitch you throw up there and then you know out a base hit or a double in the left Center off the wall uh those are things that you know behind the scenes everybody's working on something and I think if you want to survive uh for a long time in this game you have to be able to make adjustments and you have to be able to continuously be getting better at your craft and you know like I said if this sweeper is something that actually works and it's something that uh makes sense hey that's unbelievable you just learned something that you you put another tool in the toolkit great so when you walked into the the Worcester uh clubhouse do you turn your hat backwards with a skateboard slung over your shoulder and say hello fellow kids no no I got my uh kneehigh socks on and my uh you know Polo tucked in with my Fisherman's hat I got the full dab look going so no I I uh yeah no I I you know yeah of course there's there's certain things but I don't know far as the game goes and being able to talk about the mindset and the mentality and what it is to uh be competitive and understand how to talk to uh you know every level of player because everybody's at a different point in their career as I said earlier in this podcast everybody's at a different point everybody has a different uh Association of where it is they are in on their uh uh course or their process or their timeline to get to the big leagues whether they're in the big leagues you know different but being able you know from my perspective and having the I don't know I'm not going to say that I've had every level of of uh that there is to experience in baseball but I've had a and I have a lot of relatability to many players and you know whether that be uh you know a guy for his first time in triaa a guy who's in double A a guy you know you get called up you just got sent down you get released from another team you get picked up to another team um you know you're out of options you're coming into uh you know a free agent year in the big leagues or you're five days or 10 days away from arbitration um you know there's a lot of certain um you know opportunities that will pop up to have discussions with guys that are here in Triple Play and also in the big leagues so the the kid that had four hits for your team last night was born on May 13 2004 Ro Roman so he was yeah he so he had a home run last night wow what a great swing some believe he had nice double too um great Runner um yeah really good guy uh I've only had maybe one or two convers I think one conversation in particular yesterday with him before the game so um I know he just got up here in Triple A I believe yeah they so the catcher you know you have the catcher Kyle teal who was wasn't that much older you know you have Marcelo Meyer first round pick he's on the injured list right now short stop you know you have yep but you have a really really talented group of young players there with you which it's cool I mean it's it's it's I mean it's I I I don't for you though I don't like I I joke oh well you know he was he was born in 2004 when you made your major league debut whatever but the fact of the matter is that you just came from doing this with 12 year olds so it's all it's all baseball right man it's all yeah and I and I forget what coach I was talking to yesterday but it's just it's it's the same stuff you trying to keep it as simple as possible because the mind just tends to W you want to go some places and it just only gets a you know bigger and bigger as we get older more and more into the wh ifs or the you know the outcome oriented mind and and uh you know I saw it obviously with 12 year olds and you know you see it here with 22 20 22 year olds 44 year olds you see with everybody sometimes you're a but the thing is you're able to like you know the the more experience you have the more understanding you have of of staying in that moment and and process oriented and having the ball come out of your hand it's no different than when you're 12 than when you're 22 than when you're 32 or whatever as as we continue to keep going on um and I think that's one of the to your point that's the beauty of baseball it's it's Timeless I mean we can always relate to it uh whether we're you know going to Fen White Park and we're in the stands enjoying a game uh uh at any age um you know at some point we can see you know the the kind of the orchestration that happens during a game the uh success the struggle the um you know the grind the appreciation for getting out of jams U the success of a home run that when you know again all that work that goes into it uh it just times up perfectly and and you know you can see the success right there on the field and and you know the joy in the players face and also the the guys in The Dugout and the and the coaches uh and then that translates over to you as a fan that's why we buy the ticket we buy the ticket for the emotion so you know I think that's that's one of the things that is pretty cool about baseball the last thing is um so you did the live BP um on Tuesday you are pitching two to three Innings on Friday I mean when we after the Showcase or after the workout you know we sat down and you said I I you know I really truly believe I can go five to six Innings now I I totally understandable why they would just do two to three but what's what do you think the timeline is here because you know it's sort of not to say it's a rush but we're sitting here on whatever yeah heading into the last week of August rosters expand by two in September you know you want to be able to contribute for a pennant race but the pennant race is you know the last month of The Season's coming so what what do you think is a realistic timeline for you well I mean realistically obviously it would be before September 1st to be able to have an opportunity to play um you know uh and and and be on that postseason roster um you know I think I have plenty of experience of pitching in the postseason and understanding what it takes to uh pitch in that environment and have that uh you know kind of making that situation um uh as obtainable as possible and bringing uh a level of you know uh just understanding and experience into that situation and that's something that certainly is is one of driving forces behind coming back and pitching um but again I I understand that it's a you know a short timeline there's nothing that I can do about that or or have any kind of control over that at all it is what it is and you know again to the beginning part of this podcast uh um if it if you know if that's time is one of the factors that we we run out of so be it but again um going for it is something that is uh I felt was extremely and still feel obviously is very obtainable uh so remains to be seen um I understand that the other thing is with baseball is at you know 162 games during a year and it is a culmination of a marathon not a Sprint so I think a lot of factors that come into this are you know given the experience and obviously what I've done in my career and what I've been able to achieve throughout my career especially in the postseason um has to be a factor and has to be able to look at be looked at as saying okay he's got you know 50 60 plus Innings whatever it might be in the postseason of pretty damn good pitching so uh I think that's another factor that um you know should be like I said put into the equation all right well we have the baseballs and boring hats in production ready to put on your head for your first press conference oh oh in production no not in production they should be ready by the end okay Hey listen I I I I will gladly uh uh wear a baseball as a boring hat I'm very excited to see him I I I hope I don't get to see it on somebody else's head before I get the opportunity to wear it on mine there's nobody there's no as as you you you you are the there's only two of them in in existence and and they're both like they've they've they're done