Milwaukee – What a phone call it must’ve been. So what if it took longer than he’d ever thought.
Sometime either Tuesday night or Wednesday morning, Derek Hill, the Tigers’ first-round pick in 2014, called his father and told him he was going to the Show. Man, all the times he wondered if he’d ever get to make that call.
“It feels amazing,” said Hill, who was added to the active roster to replace center fielder JaCoby Jones, who broke a bone in his left hand Tuesday. “Just to be able to share this with my family and everybody.”
Hill’s father Orsino, a scout for the Los Angeles Dodgers, never advanced above Triple-A. And now here is his son, 24 years old, getting to the big leagues without ever playing a game in Triple-A.
You wonder if either of them could even speak when Derek finally made that call.
“It was an exciting moment for both of us,” Derek Hill said. “It’s been a long journey from Iowa, moving to California, getting me in the right place to be drafted – I’m so thankful. He’s been by my side the whole time, standing with me through the injuries and the ups and downs.
“Definitely a special moment.”
Hill lived in Des Moines, Iowa, with his mother in the winter growing up and with his father in the Sacramento area in the summer. He got on the Tigers’ radar while playing in travel leagues in Northern California.
“We’ve been through some tough times,” Derek said. “There’s been a lot of tough phone calls across the country over the years. But at the end of the day, I knew he was going to have my back. I knew I could rely on him no matter what.”
There was never any doubt about Hill’s defensive ability. He’s probably been the best defensive center fielder in the organization for the last three years. The issue has always been his health and his bat. But before the 2019 season, he changed his fitness program, changed his diet and started to get stronger.
That added strength translated into 19 doubles and 14 home runs in a career-best 120 games at Double-A Erie last year. And that led to the Tigers putting him on the 40-man roster and inviting him to spring training.
“We’ve known that he is an above-average defender,” manager Ron Gardenhire said. “He’s getting stronger, but he’s just a very athletic young man. We saw it in our second spring training, just how athletic he is. He made some great plays.
“The stuff he did at Comerica Park (several highlight-reel worthy catches), he was a featured player out there, making plays all over the field.”
Victor Reyes is going to get most of the playing time in center field the rest of the way. Gardenhire said he will work Hill into games, either as a defensive replacement or pinch-runner. And when he starts, it will likely be in center field because Reyes is more familiar with playing the corner spots.
“I think I bring a lot of things to the team, a lot of energy,” Hill said. “Obviously, they are doing outstanding by themselves right now – six-game winning streak. I’m just going to try to fit in and keep the ball rolling.”
Hill was initially told he would be traveling with the team as a member of the taxi squad. Both he and infielder Sergio Alcantara were summoned for that purpose. Apparently the Tigers were debating how to fill Jones’ spot, especially with shortstop Niko Goodrum dealing with some soreness in his abdominal area.
But on Wednesday morning, Hill was told he was going to be activated.
“I don’t know if it’s really hit me yet,” he said. “I don’t think it will fully hit me until I get out on the field and experience my first real big-league game. It’s a little bit of a relief, but it’s mostly excitement. It’s been a long journey, to say the least.”
Hill has worn No. 29 all through both camps, but when lefty Tarik Skubal got called up last month, he took the number Mickey Lolich made famous.
“I mean, he beat me to the punch,” Hill said, laughing. “I can’t say anything to him. He’s got a couple of starts under his belt and his first win. I haven’t established anything at the big-league level yet. It’s his number.”
Hill was issued No. 54, a linebacker’s number.
“Yep,” he said. “Bring the noise.”
Twitter@cmccosky