Orioles part of Rich Hill's crazy journey

Before Rich Hill became the six million dollar man, before he went from the Long Island Ducks to living high on the hog, he was an injured pitcher at Orioles spring training. Full of promise and anxiety and failed expectations.

Hill would make 13 starts among his 14 appearances with the Orioles, racking up a 7.80 ERA and 1.873 WHIP in 57 2/3 innings. He averaged 6.2 walks per nine innings. Finding the plate was restricted to the lunch line.

The Cardinals signed Hill to a minor league deal in 2010, he opted out of it in June and he morphed from top prospect to journeyman.

I'm not riding a wave of nostalgia here. Hill is facing the Orioles tonight in the opener of a three-game series against the Athletics at Camden Yards. The trip down memory lane serves a purpose.

Before we go any further, here's the Hill transactions page from baseball-reference.com, which doesn't include his two starts with the independent Ducks last year.

• June 2, 1999: Drafted by the Cincinnati Reds in the 36th round of the 1999 amateur draft, but did not sign.
• June 5, 2001: Drafted by the Anaheim Angels in the 7th round of the 2001 amateur draft, but did not sign.
• June 4, 2002: Drafted by the Chicago Cubs in the 4th round of the 2002 amateur draft. Player signed July 10, 2002.
• February 2, 2009: Purchased by the Baltimore Orioles from the Chicago Cubs.
• November 3, 2009: Granted Free Agency.
• January 26, 2010: Signed as a Free Agent with the St. Louis Cardinals.
• June 30, 2010: Granted Free Agency.
• June 30, 2010: Signed as a Free Agent with the Boston Red Sox.
• November 6, 2010: Granted Free Agency.
• December 16, 2010: Signed as a Free Agent with the Boston Red Sox.
• December 12, 2011: Granted Free Agency.
• December 13, 2011: Signed as a Free Agent with the Boston Red Sox.
• November 30, 2012: Granted Free Agency.
• February 7, 2013: Signed as a Free Agent with the Cleveland Indians.
• October 31, 2013: Granted Free Agency.
• February 1, 2014: Signed as a Free Agent with the Boston Red Sox.
• March 24, 2014: Released by the Boston Red Sox.
• March 26, 2014: Signed as a Free Agent with the Boston Red Sox.
• July 1, 2014: Purchased by the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim from the Boston Red Sox.
• July 9, 2014: Released by the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.
• July 16, 2014: Signed as a Free Agent with the New York Yankees.
• October 30, 2014: Granted Free Agency.
• February 27, 2015: Signed as a Free Agent with the Washington Nationals.
• June 24, 2015: Released by the Washington Nationals.
• August 14, 2015: Signed as a Free Agent with the Boston Red Sox.
• November 2, 2015: Granted Free Agency.
• November 20, 2015: Signed as a Free Agent with the Oakland Athletics.

The Red Sox signed Hill for the last time after his stint in Long Island, and he shocked the industry by going 2-1 with a 1.55 ERA in four September starts. He walked five and struck out 36 in 29 innings.

Included in the carnage was a two-hit shutout against the Orioles on Sept. 25 at Fenway Park. One walk, 10 strikeouts, lots of believers.

The Athletics signed Hill to the $6 million contract over the winter and he's 3-3 with a 2.53 ERA and 1.219 WHIP in 32 innings over six starts. He's struck out 41 batters and allowed only two home runs.

Matt Wieters remembers catching Hill at Triple-A Norfolk, where he made three starts in '09 and allowed two runs in 13 1/3 innings. Hill struck out 14 batters but also walked nine.

"He was unbelievable down there when I had him," said Wieters, who also caught 11 of Hill's games with the Orioles. "He had three pitches that he could use at any time when I caught him down there. Watching him now he's a little bit different because he'll change his arm angle a little bit more than he did, but when I caught him it felt like it was the Chicago Cubs Rich Hill with the big curveball, the good changeup and the fastball that he could throw by people.

"The stuff for a left-hander, I always thought was something you don't see much with the type of pitches he could throw."

Hill celebrated his 36th birthday in March, a little late to be an overnight sensation.

"That's what's hard about this game is you've got to be able to get on a good streak right from the get-go and I think he started a little bit slow when he came up," Wieters said. "You never know. Everybody with the talent level at the major league level is one switch away from being able to figure it out again and go back to being a very dominant pitcher."

Dave Trembley, the Orioles' manager back in 2009 and currently the Braves' director of player development, said Hill needed work on his delivery in order to succeed.

"Best pitch was his curveball which he could throw for strikes in any count," Trembley wrote in an e-mail. "Very tough vs. left-handed hitters. He was very competitive. Started a few games for us, had some arm problems. Was young and you could see he had the stuff to pitch in the big leagues. Just needed an opportunity. Figured it out. Glad for him."

Hill is 1-0 with a 0.60 ERA in 11 career appearances against the Orioles, 10 coming in relief. He's allowed one run and struck out 16 in 15 innings.

The current group is 4-for-23 against him. Ryan Flaherty is 1-for-2 with a triple and two RBIs, Adam Jones and Wieters are 1-for-1 and Nolan Reimold is 1-for-3 with a walk.

Ubaldo Jimenez is carrying a 5.20 ERA and 1.699 WHIP in five starts this season and he's coming off his worst outing, when he allowed six runs and seven hits and walked four batters over 4 2/3 innings in a 7-1 loss to the White Sox.

Jimenez is 3-1 with a 5.28 ERA and 1.630 WHIP in six career starts against the A's over 30 2/3 innings. The current group is batting .308 (24-for-78) against him.

Billy Butler is 10-for-29 with a double and home run, Josh Reddick is 4-for-13 with two doubles, a home run and six strikeouts, and Josh Phegley is 3-for-4 with a double.