A little over a year ago, Rich Hill was pitching for the Long Island Ducks. By now, that fun fact has become baseball’s equivalent of Han shot first. Everyone knows Hill’s story.*The former top prospect washed out of the majors, signed*with an Independent League team, completely rebuilt himself and is now one of the best pitchers in the game.
And yet, the constant retelling of that story shouldn’t take away from the sheer impressiveness of Hill’s journey.*Over his past 24 starts in the majors, the 36-year-old Hill has a 2.00 ERA. Yes,*the guy who couldn’t get a job in the majors as recently as July 2015 is giving the Dodgers Kershaw-level production at a fraction of the price.
The baseball world knew this. It had to. Hill’s story*has been impossible to ignore. Despite that,*there was still some reluctance to embrace Hill’s resurgence. There were doubts that his fairy tale comeback could simply be a fluke, and it would all come crashing down with one bad start. Older players don’t suddenly come out of nowhere and perform like this, right?
Those doubters were silenced*following Hill’s excellent start Tuesday during Game 4 of the National League Championship Series against the Chicago Cubs.
The former journeyman turned in a performance fitting of an ace during the Dodgers’ 6-0 win. Hill gave Los Angeles six scoreless innings, giving up just two hits against a dangerous Cubs lineup. He struck out six and walked two during the outing.
Rich Hill was on his game in a brilliant Game 3 performance on Tuesday. (Getty Images) The start featured all the qualities that have defined Hill’s resurgence over the past year and a half. Hill dazzled the Cubs with a steady diet of curveballs. He constantly changed his arm slot, giving hitters a different look at one of the most devastating pitches in the game.
To call Hill a two-pitch pitcher isn’t entirely fair. It’s technically true, as BrooksBaseball.net has Hill throwing 47 percent fastballs and 47 percent curveballs this season, but that doesn’t account for Hill’s ability to alter his breaking ball.
Hill’s fastest curveball during Tuesday’s start registered at 79.2 mph, his slowest came in at 68.6 mph. Now consider the fact that hitters have no idea whether he’s going to release the ball with his usual delivery, sidearm or from some weird three-quarters motion*and you can see how the pitch could wreck havoc on even the most seasoned veterans at the plate.
The downside of relying on a curveball and using multiple release*points is that you can occasionally lose sight of the strike zone. That nearly happened to Hill in the second inning.
Hill didn’t seem to have a strong feel for the curve in that frame, walking Anthony Rizzo on nine pitches to kick things off. He was able to retire Javier Baez on six pitches, but not before going to a three-ball count on the infielder. After an eight-pitch walk to Jorge Soler, it looked as though the Cubs had Hill on the ropes.
And then, just like that, he seemed to find himself. Hill struck out Addison Russell on five pitches, and got Miguel Montero to ground out to end the inning. It was the only time the Cubs threatened Hill during the start.
The fact that this performance came against the club the drafted and developed Hill makes for a convenient narrative. This was the Rich Hill revenge game. On the biggest stage, he took down the team that drafted, developed and then gave up on him.*This was vindication. The night his career truly came full circle.

Game 3 of the NLCS wasn’t a revenge game for Rich Hill. (Getty Images/Scott Clarke) But we know that’s not entirely fair. The version of Hill who walked nearly a batter per inning for the 2008 Cubs doesn’t exist anymore. The*Hill who*took the mound*Tuesday night is a completely different guy.
As recently as a*year and a half ago, no team in Major League Baseball was willing to take a shot on Hill. To say no one saw this coming isn’t hyperbole. It’s a fact.
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Chris Cwik is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Chris_Cwik