Gill Hill to chase dream of playing in the majors

By Kyle Adams
Posted 8/10/22

Like many others who grew up in Walden, Gary Gill Hill remembers his days playing youth baseball at Bradley Park, dating back to T-Ball.

He now joins a select group of ballplayers who’ve …

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Gill Hill to chase dream of playing in the majors

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Like many others who grew up in Walden, Gary Gill Hill remembers his days playing youth baseball at Bradley Park, dating back to T-Ball.

He now joins a select group of ballplayers who’ve attempted to make a career out of playing the game.

The 6’2” 165 pound right-hander was drafted in the sixth round of the 2022 MLB Draft by the Tampa Bay Rays. The Rays selected Gill Hill, who attended John F. Kennedy Catholic High School (Somers, NY), with the 194th overall pick.

On Friday, July 29, Gill Hill agreed to a contract with Tampa Bay, officially becoming a professional baseball player. He signed a $597,000 signing bonus, over double what his draft slot was valued at, which was $255,500.

“On Day 1 I was just watching on TV with my mom and dad,” Gill Hill said of the draft. “On Day 2 my advisor called and said that the Rays were going to give me this amount to pick me in the sixth or seventh round. We talked it over with my parents and we said yes. About three or four picks before the Rays were up, my advisor called and confirmed that they were going to pick me. It was a really exciting moment.”

“I was extremely happy for Gary and his family when he got drafted,” said Gill Hill’s travel teammate Cameron Stevens, who just graduated from Valley Central. “He’s a hard worker and deserves everything that’s coming his way.”

As his senior year at Kennedy Catholic wound down, Gill Hill decided to change his commitment from Fairleigh Dickinson University to Wake Forest.

After being selected by the Rays, Gill Hill had to choose between the nearly $600,000 signing bonus and becoming a Demon Deacon and attending college.

“The Rays are one of the best organizations for developing high school arms. Wake Forest is also really good at developing pitchers though. The money being there really allowed me to choose the Rays,” he said. “It was a pretty exciting moment when I signed. Everything happened pretty quick. I met a lot of people, including the GM. It was really cool.”

“I know that he wanted to play pro ball. It was just a matter of whether it was financially advantageous to do so,” said Bob Fletcher, the head baseball coach at Kennedy Catholic. “Obviously Tampa Bay made the right decision by giving him the money that they did.”

“It really showed that they valued me pretty high, as a high schooler,” Gill Hill added. “I felt like they were going to invest in me and help me work my way up to the MLB.”

Since signing his rookie contract at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida, Gill Hill has been at the Rays rookie-ball camp with the other draft picks.

His schedule includes early morning workouts and meetings, as he hopes to get assigned to an affiliate before the 2022 season ends.

The most likely scenario for this season would be for Gill Hill to play in the Florida Complex League, which is intended for rookies.

The Rays Single-A affiliate is the Charleston RiverDogs and their High-A team is the Bowling Green Hot Rods. Prior to the minor league realignment in 2020, the Rays had been affiliated with the Hudson Valley Renegades, which is now a Yankee affiliate.

Fletcher learned of his former player’s selection in the draft while coaching at a Perfect Game tournament in Georgia.

“I had talked to the scouts. Obviously they call and ask me about his makeup. I knew that Tampa was very interested in him, I just didn’t know which club would take him,” Fletcher said, noting that he believes the best is yet to come for the Walden native.

“He isn’t even close to his maximum size. When he starts to fill out and get even stronger, he’s going to consistently throw in the high-high nineties, if not higher.”

Stevens, who played with Gill Hill during their time in Orange County Cal Ripken League and with the Putnam Braves, has his share of stories of being on the mound and watching the Rays’ pick save the game with his glove.

He admitted it wasn’t easy learning they wouldn’t be playing together during high school. As Gill Hill began his time at Kennedy Catholic, Stevens remained at Valley Central.

“It was hard. I’ve known him since I was six years old and always felt confident knowing I had Gary pitching or playing defense on my team,” Stevens recalled. “Really, it was hard not having my best friend in school everyday.”

Fletcher and Stevens will each be paying close attention as Gill Hill pursues his dream of playing in the major leagues.

“He has a very good chance of doing it. He’s a hard worker and he hasn’t really even tapped into his full potential,” Fletcher said.

“He hasn’t changed at all,” Stevens added. “He’s still the same respectful, genuine kid. He’s the same humble, hard worker I’ve always known.”

For Gill Hill, 17, the journey is about following the process, while acknowledging that he’d like to remain a starting pitcher.

“I have to work my way up to low-A ball, hopefully by next year,” he said. “Since I was really young watching on TV, the MLB has always been a dream. Being here, it’s really shown that my hard work has paid off.”