Former Red Sox Pitcher Rich Hill Plays Ball … For Charity

Don’t call it a comeback. Former Boston Red Sox pitcher Rich Hill will be uniform Thursday night, but not in a big-league ballpark.

The 45-year-old left-hander will appear in the “Oldtime Baseball Game” at St. Peter’s Field in Cambridge, Mass. According to its website, Hill will bat and play in the field but “most likely” will not pitch.

The “Oldtime Baseball Game” is a fundraiser for The Boston Home. It is a non-profit which “serves adults with advanced Multiple Sclerosis and other progressive neurological disorders.”

Founded in 1994, the game features college and high school players from the greater Boston area. Starting in 1998, players started wearing throwback uniforms to honor baseball’s colorful history.

Hill, who had a cup of coffee this season with the Kansas City Royals, will become the first player to appear in both the big leagues and “Oldtime Baseball Game” in the same year.

The game was scheduled for Wednesday but had to be postponed because of rain. Former Red Sox utilityman Brock Holt was slated to appear but cannot attend on Thursday, opening the door for Hill to play ball.

In May, Hill signed a minor-league deal with the Royals, who promoted him to the big leagues in June after nine appearances with Triple-A Omaha. He made two starts for Kansas City, going 0-2 with a 5.00 ERA and eight walks in nine innings of work.

Hill is a veteran with 21 big-league seasons on his resume. According to ESPN, he is tied with Edwin Jackson for the most franchises played in MLB history at 14. The lefty played for the Red Sox from 2010-12, then again in 2015, 2022 and 2024. 

In his two-plus decade career, Hill has appeared in 388 games, making 250 starts. He’s 90-76 with a 4.02 ERA.

You can see Hill back in uniform Thursday at 7 p.m. and admission is free.