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'Funky' time leads Hill to the Rays

The veteran pitcher is trying to revive his career.

[Times photo: Scott Keeler] Ken Hill, 35, led the league in wins and was second in the NL Cy Young Award voting in 1994, and he led the league in shutouts in 1996.

By JOHN ROMANO

© St. Petersburg Times, published February 22, 2001

ST. PETERSBURG -- Standing on a mound with ball in hand, Ken Hill felt like a kid again. And it was not a pleasant sensation.

A millionaire pitcher who has performed in the World Series and the All-Star Game, Hill found himself without a job just weeks before spring training began. So he stood on that mound in Southern California performing for major-league scouts like a kid trying out for a youth league team.

"It was weirdest moment of my career," Hill said. "I'm on the mound, and I have a scout standing next to me. All of these other scouts are behind the screen watching me. I'm thinking, "Aw, man, this is too weird.'

"It felt so funky."

In the ensuing days, the feeling would get worse. Hill, 35, performed in two tryout sessions set up by his agent. Scouts from nearly a dozen teams showed up. Yet his phone was nearly silent.

Hill knew he had not pitched well last year, but he did not think he was that bad.

"I was amazed. Not even an invite. I couldn't believe it," Hill said. "You see all of these guys coming off major surgeries getting invited to camps, and I got nothing. I wanted to go to camp with the Rangers because I'm from Texas, and they wouldn't even bring me in. And they need pitching. All I wanted was to go to camp. If you don't like what you see, all you've got to do is release me. It's not going to cost you a dime."

Which is where the Devil Rays came in. With a bullpen stripped bare by a series of trades, the Rays offered Hill a minor-league contract with a chance to make the club as a reliever. He has made 12 relief appearances in his 13-year career, but he also did not have any better offers. So Hill is here, trying to revive a once-thriving career and wondering if this is the end of the line.

"I never wanted to put myself in this situation. And I don't have to be in this situation. I could just say I'm not going to deal with this stuff," Hill said. "But I love the game. The last couple of years I've been banged up and haven't done what is expected of me. I just want to go out on my own terms. On a positive. I don't want to go out on a negative.

"It's not about money now. I've got plenty. My family will be fine. I just want to go out on my terms, the way I want to go out. I don't want to go out with somebody telling me I'm done."

It is a harsh reality for a man who was among the best in the game during the 1990s. Hill went 16-9 with a 2.68 ERA in 1992. He led the league in wins and was second in the National League Cy Young Award voting in '94, and he led the league in shutouts in '96.

"This guy could dominate a game," said Rays coach Terry Collins, who was Hill's manager in Anaheim. "I've seen him dominate good teams. He's been a No. 1 pitcher for some good teams. I'm just hoping he's healthy enough to show everybody down here what he can do, because he can help us."

An arthritic elbow condition has limited Hill's effectiveness in recent seasons, but he believes the perception is worse than the reality. He spent nearly two months on the disabled list last year, but that was for a rib injury. Hill said his elbow might have been cranky, but it did not keep him from taking the ball as scheduled. The arthritis affects the command of his pitches, but he said it flares up only on occasion.

Still, Hill has much to prove. A 9-19 record and a 5.70 ERA the past two years will not leave him a big margin for error this spring.

He also must prove he is capable of pitching in relief. Hill holds out hope that the Rays might consider him for the rotation, but manager Larry Rothschild said the plan is to look at him in relief.

"Whatever role they want me to do, I'll try. I'll give it go," Hill said. "But (relief is) different. It's a different mentality. You have to be ready every day, and I don't know if my arm can do that every day, or every other day."

For what it's worth, the elbow is feeling fine these days. His velocity is back up in the low 90s, and Hill is eager to test it in game situations.

Even if things do not work out with the Rays, a decent showing in the spring might lead to a job offer elsewhere. But after being released by the Angels and White Sox within a few months of each other last season, Hill said he is not going to bounce around much longer.

"I'm not going to be released and go from team to team. I did that last year with the White Sox and wasted my time and their time," Hill said. "I'll go home, man. I'm not going to be floating around. It's not worth it. ... I don't know, maybe it is worth it. But I've got two boys at home, and I'll spend time with them and my wife."

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