Boston Red Sox pitcher Rich Hill had the support of manager Alex Cora and the rest of the clubhouse while making an emotional start Monday in an eventual 8-3 loss to the Minnesota Twins.
Hill took the mound for the first time since the death of his father, Lloyd Hill Sr., on Friday at the age of 94. And while Hill’s on-field performance didn’t go the way he wanted, as he said after the game, Cora expressed how the team was proud of the outing the veteran left-hander put together.
“I can’t even imagine the emotions and the feelings and everything,” Cora said, per MLB.com. “Like I told him, we’re very proud of him. We’re family and we’re here for him, and for him to go out there and compete, that was good enough.
“He did a lot today. He showed his team a lot, too,” Cora added. “He’s a guy we respected playing against and all these guys who played with him before. But having him in the clubhouse with us is a different story. We’re very proud of him, and my thoughts and prayers (are with) the Hill family. Obviously Lloyd lived a great life. For his son to go out there and compete the way he did, he should be very proud.”
Rafael Devers was one of Hill’s teammates to echo a similar sentiment.
“Of course, we feel sad for him,” Devers said. “He’s a really good competitor and he did a tremendous job out there today. We feel really proud of him and the way he pitched today.”
Hill got choked up while speaking to reporters after the game. He addressed the difficulty of the situation, but ultimately noted how it was a lesson from his father that caused him to follow through on making the start rather than passing the duties to someone else.
“But the job is to be a professional and show up and, you know, no matter what circumstances there are outside of the clubhouse, or outside of the lines, that you show up and you’re a pro and that’s something that I learned from my dad,” Hill said.
The 42-year-old Massachusetts native revealed his character in the four-plus inning start.
