11 fun facts about Rich Hill's remarkable career
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Rich Hill has been a staple of Major League Baseball for more than 20 years, and the veteran pitcher isn’t hanging up his cleats just yet.
Hill, 45, was called up to the Majors by the Royals on Tuesday to start against the Cubs at Wrigley Field.
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When he does, he’ll be making all sorts of history. Here are 11 fun facts about Hill’s remarkable career as he prepares to pitch for the 14th MLB team of his career.
As noted above, the Royals will be Hill’s 14th franchise, tying an MLB record set by Edwin Jackson. Hill is currently tied with the late Octavio Dotel for second place by appearing for 13 different clubs.
Kansas City will be the seventh team Hill plays for at age 40 or older -- the most of any player in AL/NL/FL history, according to STATS.
Hill will be 45 years, 133 days old on Tuesday when he takes the mound at Wrigley, where he made his MLB debut for the Cubs, who drafted him in 2002. Thirty-nine players who have appeared in at least one MLB game in 2025 were born after that Draft.
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Hill made his MLB debut on June 15, 2005, at age 25. The youngest big leaguer to appear in a game this season, Braves pitcher Didier Fuentes, was born on June 19, 2005.
In that debut, Hill was the second reliever following Greg Maddux. Among the six batters he faced were Miguel Cabrera and Carlos Delgado.
His first start came almost to the date -- July 25, 2005, at Wrigley against the Giants. He went five innings and allowed two runs in an eventual Cubs walk-off win.
Since Hill’s debut, 4,846 Major League players have made their debuts (most recently the Rangers’ Cody Freeman on July 18), according to Baseball Reference.
Hill will be the oldest pitcher to start for an MLB team since Jamie Moyer's final game on May 27, 2012 (49 years, 191 days old).
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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 (joining Moyer, Roger Clemens, Randy Johnson, Tim Wakefield and Bartolo Colon).
Hill is set to become the oldest player to pitch in a game for the Royals, surpassing Gaylord Perry (45 years, 6 days old on Sept. 21, 1983).
The Royals will be the third AL Central team for which Hill has pitched, joining the Guardians (2013) and Twins (2020). Hill has already pitched for at least one club in all of MLB’s six divisions: one in the NL East (Mets), two in the NL West (Dodgers and Padres), two in the AL West (A’s and Angels), two in the NL Central (Cubs and Pirates) and FOUR in the AL East (Orioles, Red Sox, Yankees and Rays).