Glenallen Hill

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Glenallen Hill (born March 22, 1965 in Santa Cruz, California) is a former outfielder in Major League Baseball who played for 13 seasons. Hill played with the Toronto Blue Jays (1989-1991), Cleveland Indians (1991-1993), Chicago Cubs (1993-1994, 1998-2000) San Francisco Giants (1995-1997), Seattle Mariners (1998), New York Yankees (2000), and Anaheim Angels (2001). Hill batted and threw right-handed. Currently, he is the first base coach for the Colorado Rockies.

[edit] Career

[edit] High school

Hill graduated from Santa Cruz High School in 1983, and was drafted by the Toronto Blue Jays in the 1983 amateur draft, in the ninth round and 219th overall.

[edit] Major leagues

Hill made his major league debut on July 31, 1989 with the Toronto Blue Jays.

In a 13 year Major League career, Hill compiled a lifetime batting average of .271, hitting 186 home runs and driving in 586 RBIs in 1162 games. As a pinch hitter Hill had a .287 lifetime average with 13 home runs.

Hill also was infamous for his defensive escapades which was once described by then-Mariners pitching coach Bryan Price as "akin to watching a gaffed haddock surface for air."

On May 11, 2000 Mr. Hill was responsible for a memorable event in the annals of Chicago Cubs baseball lore. On that day Hill became the first, and thus far only player, to hit a pitched ball onto the roof of a five-story residential building across the street from the left field wall of Wrigley Field.

Due to his far from adequate defensive skills, he has been referred to as The Juggler because he would struggle to hold on to a ball when he did catch one.

Hill has recently started wearing a helmet while coaching first base, following the death of Tulsa Drillers (a Rockies minor-league affiliate) first base coach and former major leaguer Mike Coolbaugh from injuries sustained when hit in the head by a batted ball. Hill and Oakland's Rene Lachemann were the only coaches at the major league level to do so in 2007.

Hill was the first National League player in regular season play ever to serve as a designated hitter. The distinction occurred on June 12, 1997 in the first-ever game in interleague play as his San Francisco Giants faced the Texas Rangers at The Ballpark at Arlington.

[edit] Mitchell Report / Grimsley affidavit

In December of 2007, Hill was included in the Mitchell Report in which it was alleged that he used performance-enhancing drugs during his career. In the report, Kirk Radomski alleges that he met Hill at a social function in 2000 during which they discussed Hill's dissatisfaction with the results from his use of Human Growth Hormone(HGH). Radomski claims he sent Hill a complementary bottle off HGH which Hill tried and expressed his satisfaction with the results. Radomski states Hill purchased two kits of HGH from him and provided a photocopy of a canceled check from Hill for $3,200. Hill's phone number and address were also included in Radomski's address book.

As an employee of Major League Baseball, Hill was required to submit to an interview by the Mitchell investigators. During the interview, Hill denied using the HGH provided by Radomski citing that he was suffering from marital stresses at the time. He stated that this was a one time purchase, and that he never used performance enhancing substances. He admitted that the drugs stayed in his possession until 2007 when he discovered them when unpacking from a move. Hill claimed he couldn't remember other players who he may have discussed steroid use with, and noted that his lawyer had warned him that naming players would hurt his career.^[1]

On December 20, 2007 Hill was also named in Jason Grimsley's unsealed affidavit as a user of steroids. Hill and Grimsley were teammates on the 2000 New York Yankees.^[2]

[edit] Personal

Hill suffered from an intense condition of arachnophobia. On one occasion Hill sustained cuts and scrapes on his feet, knees and arm during a violent nightmare about spiders. Hill popped out of bed, bumped into a glass table and plunged down a staircase, all occurring when he was asleep. Hill ended up being placed on the 15 day disabled list. This led to him being nicknamed "Spiderman." ^[3]

While a member of the Cleveland Indians, he committed a "phantom steal" of second. This occurred during a game against the Detroit Tigers which was interrupted by a prolonged disturbance in the outfield. When play resumed, no one noticed that Hill had moved from first to second.

[edit] See also

• Top 500 home run hitters of all time
• List of Major League Baseball players named in the Mitchell Report

[edit] References

1. ^ Mitchell Report pp. 183-85 (PDF).
2. ^ Affidavit: Grimsley named players. CNN (2007-12-20). Retrieved on 2007-12-31.
3. ^ Gormley, Chuck. East Dish: Cole might want to kick this habit. Retrieved on 2007-11-01.

[edit] External links

• Career statistics and player information from Baseball-Reference
• The Hardball Times on Glenallen Hill