Former Hurricane Bobby Hill Makes Debut With Cubs
May 10, 2002
By NANCY ARMOUR
AP Sports Writer
CHICAGO (AP) – Bobby Hill didn’t take long to convince the Chicago Cubs hebelonged in the big leagues.
The Cubs purchased the rookie’s contract from Triple-A Iowa on Friday, andhe was at Wrigley Field and in the lineup for the afternoon game against theMilwaukee Brewers. He took the spot of reliever Carlos Zambrano, who went onthe 15-day disabled list with a strained right elbow.
“I got no sleep,” Hill said. “My adrenaline is running pretty high rightnow and I’m just excited to be here.”
Hill, a second-round pick in 2000, came close to making the team out ofspring training. Despite intense scrutiny on him as one of the Cubs topprospects, he hit .300 with four homers and 10 RBIs.
But he hadn’t even played two full seasons of professional baseball, so theCubs sent him to Iowa to get a little more experience. He caught a flulikevirus at the end of spring training, losing 8 pounds and much of his strength.
He missed the first few days of the season and hit just .161 in his first 17games.
“I was in bed for eight days,” Hill said. “When I first got in thelineup, I went to 20-degree weather and I wasn’t really healthy. I was justtrying to get out there and play. Finally, I started to get healthy again andstarted to get my strength back.”
And once he was healthy, he went on a tear. He hit .396 in his last 12 gamesin Iowa, scoring 12 runs. Veteran Cubs second baseman Delino DeShields,meanwhile, is hitting .194.
“It’s not one of those trial things,” Cubs manager Don Baylor said ofHill’s promotion. “He still probably has to learn how to handle things at thislevel. He’s really come a long ways in the last two to three weeks as far ashis batting average.”
Converted from shortstop to second base during 2001 spring training, Hill’sdefense has come a long way, too. He didn’t commit any errors in Triple-A, andwas in on 17 double plays.
Hill said he found out about his promotion Thursday night, and had about twohours to catch a flight. He got to Chicago around 11 p.m., but didn’t sleepmuch between all the phone calls he got and his excitement.
“I was just laying in bed looking at the wall, trying to fall asleep. I wascounting to 100, trying to go backwards,” he said, laughing. “But the day’shere and now I’ve got to live it up.”
