Some interesting factoids about Rich Hill who starts tonight for the Royals against the Cubs at Wrigley Field, 20 years to the day after he made his ML debut on that mound. For perspective, he debuted in Ryan Howard's ROTY season.
Almost 20 years to the day after he made his first career start -- on July 25, 2005, at Wrigley Field -- Hill will be back on the same Chicago mound tonight (8 ET on MLB.TV), pitching for the Royals at the age of 45. When he steps onto the field in a Kansas City uniform, the veteran left-hander will be making all sorts of history. (Be sure to check out our list of fun facts about Hillās MLB return.)
The Royals will be Hillās 14th franchise, tying him for the MLB record held by Edwin Jackson. Heāll have made appearances for seven clubs after turning 40, the most of any player in AL/NL history, according to STATS.
Hill will be just the 18th pitcher to start a game at age 45 or older in MLB history and the sixth in the 21st century. The last time someone older than Hill (45 years, 133 days old) started for an MLB team was Jamie Moyerās final game on May 27, 2012.
_A quick pass through the box score from Hillās MLB debut -- as a reliever on June 15, 2005 -- puts his longevity into perspective. The Cubsā starter in that game? Greg Maddux, who retired after the 2008 season and was a first-ballot Hall of Famer in ā14. Hill faced six batters that day, including a 22-year-old Miguel Cabrera, then in his third season with the Marlins. _
The clip of his first career strikeout also screams ā2005,ā coming against a Marlins-era Carlos Delgado (on a rainbow curveball, of course), with a "Mr. & Mrs. Smith" movie ad on the backstop. Two decades later, Hill is still going.
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-- Thomas Harrigan
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