Over the Hill? This 42-year-old pitcher isn't yet

BOSTON -- The art of pitching was on full display on Wednesday night at Fenway Park by a 42-year-old lefty in Rich Hill who is leaving little doubt that he can pitch beyond this season.

From vastly different speeds (his fastest offering was 90.9 mph and his slowest was 65.9), a variety of arm angles and at a brisk pace between pitches, Hill stifled the Orioles over six scoreless innings while leading the Red Sox to a 3-1 win.

In this age in which velocity is king, Hill is living, breathing proof that it doesn’t have to be.

Making his 25th start of the season (second most on the Red Sox), Hill threw 43 fastballs, 23 curveballs, 18 cutters, 12 sliders and four changeups. While walking one and striking out nine, he induced 15 swings-and-misses.

Remember in Game 4 of the 2018 World Series when Chris Sale tried to fire up his Red Sox teammates by screaming in the dugout that Hill -- pitching masterfully for the Dodgers that night in Los Angeles -- only had two pitches?

Hill is no longer that fastball-curveball pitcher. Of late, he has added a cutter as a key piece.

“I think a lot of the game is making adjustments,” said Hill. “It’s not so much to stay relevant, but it’s a matter of, ‘How are you going to continue to keep getting hitters out and refining your craft?’ I think that’s one thing that I’ve always done, is continue to evolve and make adjustments with the game.”

Nobody can question Hill's competitiveness or work ethic. Otherwise, he would have retired or become ineffective by now.

Though Hill isn’t having his best season (8-7, 4.41 ERA), he has held his own in perhaps the best offensive division in MLB and has thoroughly enjoyed pitching for his hometown Red Sox again.

In fact, when asked how much that has meant to him after his start on Wednesday, Hill had to pause as the emotions built up within him. Then he teared up just a little. Not far beyond where Hill was speaking was his locker, which has two name plates. One that says Rich Hill and the other labeled Brice Hill.

Brice is Rich’s 10-year-old son. Pitching in Boston allowed Rich to attend some of Brice’s Little League games this season. Moments before speaking to the media, Rich had his arm around Brice and handed him a baseball -- presumably from Wednesday’s game. Clearly, pitching at home has meant everything to Hill.

“Yeah, it's been great,” said Hill. “Like I've told these guys before, we have a finite amount of time to play this game. So it's been great. It's been great. The organization here has been great to me. It's been great to my family. I love pitching here.”

Hill’s ultimate dream was to use this 2022 season back in Boston to win the World Series title that has eluded him so far in his career. That was not to be.

“Unfortunately, the season isn't going the way that we want it to. But hopefully brighter things are ahead,” said Hill.

Hill will be a free agent this offseason. It remains to be seen if he fits into Boston’s plans for next year. But it is obvious Hill still has more in the tank.

“I’ve been saying all along, he can pitch as long as his family lets him pitch,” said Red Sox manager Alex Cora. “The stuff -- it is what it is velocity-wise -- is what organizations are looking for, the fastball spin and the efficiency of his pitches. He still has stuff he can work on and get better at, and he loves to compete.”

In recent weeks, Hill hinted at perhaps pitching a partial season in 2023 to allow him more family time. But he made it clear Wednesday that all options are still on the table.

“I think that's something that I'm going to discuss with [wife] Caitlin and Brice, sit down and talk with them about what the plan is going to be and how we're going to go forward,” said Hill. “Obviously, I would love to come back here to Boston and play here. I think [chief baseball officer] Chaim [Bloom] and the front office are going to build a winner next year. It’s something that if it works out, it works out. Keep the options open as far as whether it's going to be for a full season or half-season.”