Major League Baseball: Kansas City Royals
DETROIT Sweat dripped down reliever Tim Hills face, under the collar of his Royals jersey and onto his neck.
Hill, 28, had just pitched a perfect ninth inning on a late March afternoon in Scottsdale, Ariz. The side-slinging left-hander the Royals chose to protect from Decembers Rule 5 draft retired three Diamondbacks minor-leaguers with the help of ground balls and a five-pitch strikeout. He preserved a tie in the Royals penultimate game of the spring.
The appearance, Hills final audition for a spot on the Royals 25-man roster, couldnt have gone more smoothly.
Yet as Hill descended the steps into the visiting dugout, he could not stop the perspiration from collecting at collarbones.
I think Im being optioned down, he had told his girlfriend moments earlier.
Why else would manager Ned Yost, just days from finalizing his Opening-Day roster, beckon Hill to his office in a tone so serious it brooked no room for argument? Surely not to offer Hill, who had never pitched above Class AA Northwest Arkansas, a job in the Royals bullpen.
Certain buddies would be in my ear. Dude, you might make the team, Hill said. I was like, Nah, I dont wanna hear it.
You cant really expect anything.
So he didnt as he sat with Yost and dissected his spring. Through seven Cactus League outings, Hill threw scoreless innings in six. He scattered four hits. He allowed two earned runs and issued a pair of walks. Not too shabby for the first big-league camp of his professional career.
But Hills anxiety crested when Yost abruptly called star third baseman Mike Moustakas in from the hallway to join their chat.
Do you think he can get big-league hitters out? Hill remembers Yost asking the All-Star third baseman.
I said, Absolutely, yes, Moustakas recalled, standing in the middle of the visiting clubhouse at Comerica Park this week.
For a brief moment, Hill was stunned.
Nearly two weeks and countless re-tellings later, Hill still finds that part of the story to be the most surreal. He wanted to ask Yost to repeat himself, to tell him a second time, Youre going to the big leagues.
Hill never asked. He just propelled himself into Moustakas side for a hug. Then he turned to shake Yosts hand and pulled the 62-year-old in for a half-embrace, too.
I was hoping for (sometime) this year; I wanna get called up, Hill said. That would be cool.
