44-Year-Old Ex-Dodgers Pitcher Makes Major League Comeback

Dick Mountain has returned to the Boston Red Sox — and it didn’t take him very long.

After signing a minor league contract with the Red Sox on Aug. 16, former Los Angeles Dodgers starting pitcher Rich Hill’s contract was selected on Tuesday afternoon. The left-hander started for Triple-A Worcester on Friday at Norfolk, throwing 2.0 scoreless innings with two strikeouts, one walk, and one hit batter.

The two-inning appearance marked Hill’s first appearance on a mound against live hitters in more than 10 months, and represented the next step toward rejoining the big league club in Boston as the team makes a final push for a playoff spot in the American League.

“I felt great. The ball came out of my hand the way that I wanted it to,” Hill told Rob Bradford of Audacy Sports on the “Baseball Isn’t Boring” podcast. “You’re always working to continuously work. That’s part of the process and that’s the one thing that (I’ve talked about) is the main focus for really anything that you wanna achieve; it’s just putting in the time and the effort, and that’s something that you have to do. I enjoy that part of it. I enjoy the work. I enjoy the day in and day out of the task at hand.”

Hill has suited up for 13 Major League teams, the second-most in history behind Edwin Jackson’s 14. With his first appearance in 2024, Hill would become the only player to have appeared in at least one game in each of the last 20 seasons (2005-24).

Hill would also join Tim Wakefield as the only pitcher to have played for the Red Sox at age 44 or older. Wakefield’s final major league appearance was on Sept. 25, 2011, at age 45.

“This is a special place,” Hill said in a phone interview with MLB.com on Aug. 18. “Boston’s one of the best places to play in the league, if not the best, just because of the ballpark. But it’s really what the fans bring to the game because you get that immediate feedback. When you get to play at the highest level, that’s what you want. You want to get that feedback.”

Over parts of 19 Major League seasons, Hill has compiled a record of 90-73 with a 4.01 ERA (626 earned runs in 1,405.1 innings pitched) across 382 appearances, including 248 starts. His career includes stints with the Chicago Cubs (2005-08), Baltimore Orioles (2009), Red Sox (2010-12, ’15, ’22), Cleveland Guardians (2013), Los Angeles Angels (2014), New York Yankees (2014), Oakland A’s (2016), Los Angeles Dodgers (2016-19), Minnesota Twins (2020), Tampa Bay Rays (2021), New York Mets (2021), Pittsburgh Pirates (2023), and San Diego Padres (2023).

Additionally, Hill has made 13 postseason appearances (12 starts) for the Cubs (2007) and Dodgers (2016-19), with a 1-2 record and a 3.06 ERA (18 earned runs in 53.0 innings pitched).

With the Dodgers from 2016-19, Hill made 68 starts and went 30-16 with a 3.36 ERA. He made an additional 12 postseason appearances (11 starts), going 1-2 with a 3.06 ERA.

Photo Credit: Orlando Ramirez-USA TODAY Sports

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