The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/589596
MICHIGAN IN THE PROS notched one assist … Stood plus‑five with nine shots on goal. Major League Baseball RICH HILL WILL BE A COVETED FREE AGENT Former Michigan pitcher and 35‑year‑old left‑hander Rich Hill was one of Major League Baseball's best stories of the late season. He fin‑ ished the year 2‑1 with a 1.55 ERA and 36 strikeouts in 29 innings over four starts for the Boston Red Sox, after being called up from the minor leagues. Hill is now ready to find a team ready to spend some money on him. "I'm looking forward to it," he told WEEI Radio. "It's just that body of work. You can't look at that and deny what's going on. Anybody in base‑ ball who knows the game, if you're looking at it, you have to acknowl‑ edge there's a lot there. "I think for me, I have to be a pro‑ ponent of myself and go out there and continue to fight off the field as much as I did on the field." Hill pitched for the Long Island Ducks of the independent Atlantic League of Professional Baseball ear‑ lier this season before signing with the Red Sox. He ascended quickly up the team's ladder to the parent club. "The four games I pitched aren't four games you look at and say, 'That was just dumb luck,'" Hill said. "I faced the best hitters in the American League, and doing it in the American League East is something that can't be denied." He pitched against the New York Yankees, Baltimore Orioles, Toronto Blue Jays and Tampa Bay Rays in his four starts. "I've never spoken like this be‑ fore in the past because for me to be humble is extremely important," Hill said. "But in this part of the game you have to go out and stand up for yourself, and that's something I'm looking forward to doing in the off‑ season. "It's confidence. It's going out there and saying, 'I can pitch for anybody, against anybody, any‑ time, anywhere.' I feel very [full of conviction]." MLB NOTES • Former U‑M pitcher and Chicago Cubs left‑hander Clayton Richard was still playing as of Oct. 20. The middle reliever and the Cubs were down 2‑0 in games to the New York Mets in the National League Championship Series. Richard finished the regular season 4‑2 in 23 appearances with a 3.83 ERA. He struck out 22 and walked seven. He had pitched one and two‑thirds innings in the postseason and had given up only one hit in four appearances. • The Reds called up center fielder and former Wolverine Ryan LaMarre in Sep‑ tember, and he played in 21 games and started five. He batted only .080 with two runs scored in 25 at‑bats. • Former Michigan pitcher Zach Put‑ nam finished his season with the Chi‑ cago White Sox at 3‑3 with a 4.07 ERA. He notched six holds and struck out 64 against 24 walks in 48 2 ⁄3 innings pitched.