Monday July 30, 2007
The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
11
sports@michigandaily.com
734-764-8585
McGuffe will
Former Wolverine and current Chicago Cubs pitcher is 6-6 with a 3.59 earned run average this year.
Former Wolverine Hill is a
fixture in the Cubs' rotation
By ALEX PROSPERI
Daily Sports Writer
Former Wolverine and current Chicago
Cubs starting pitcher Rich Hill is on cloud
nine these days.
"To go to a major league field every day and
play on the best field in the country and play
in front of packed stadiums, especially being
a Chicago Cub, where everywhere we go we,
have a huge following of loyal fans, it's tough
to describe."
"It is surreal. I like to go every day when
I come into Wrigley and just kind of go into
the stands and look out - sit in one of those
seats and kind of get the feeling of what its
like to sit on the other side, not in the dugout.
It's real special."
But the road to Chicago's North Side from
his hometown of Boston had a few bumps.
Hill went 7-16 with a 5.54 ERA for the Maize
and Blue from 2000-2002. The Wolverines
didn't fair too well either in that span, going
69-92-1. But he learned how to pitch and com-
pete in Ann Arbor.
"The stuff was there, the talent was there,
just how to develop it now and kind of hone
it in and to continue to fine tune everything,"
Hill said. "It was more trying to get to the
point where I was consistently throwing
strikes."
"Playing at Michigan, playing teams like
Michigan State and Ohio State, coming in
from out of state and coming to Michigan, I
didn'treallyknow too much. I knew they were
great rivalries but I didn't really know it was
all about playing in those rivalries because I
had never been to games like that. It's what
it's all about. Being part of the tradition there
at Michigan, it was just a lot of fun."
With more confidence on the mound after
three years as a Wolverine, Hill was taken by
the Cubs in the 4th round of the 2002 MLB
Draft.
But Hill still had a lot of time before
finally experiencing the glory of the majors.
He would pitch for six Cubs minor league
affiliates. He went from Boise (Idaho) to
Lansing, back to Boise, to Daytona (Fla.), to
Peoria (Ill.), to West Tennessee, and then
AAA Iowa. Finally, on June 15, 2005, Hill
made his major league debut, giving up two
runs in one inning in a 15-5 Cubs loss. Since
that rough debut, Hill has bounced back and
become one of the Cubs most dangerous
pitchers.
The 27-year-old, who features a nasty
curveball and a fastball in the low-90s, has a
6-6 record with a 3.59 ERA this year.
Still, he knows he can't keep playing for-
ever. Hill doesn't have his college degree, but
plans to return for some kind of communica-
tions degree in order to stay around baseball
via radio or television.
Life as a student-athlete, although not a
walk in the park for Hill, proved tobe a great
stepping-stone to life as a major leaguer.
"I know the times that I was there we
didn't have great records or winning teams
but we did have a lot of fun," Hill said. "And
the guys that (I got) to know (and got) to have
some really great friendships that continue
on today, which I think that's the most memo-
rable thing to me ... just the people that I met
there and still know today and continue with
those relationships"
keep 3
undreds of thousands of kids
put on hats each day. Some do
it for style, some for comfort
and some might just
be self-conscious of a -
possibly developing
bald spot.
But when Sam
McGuffie, a kid who
hasn't even started
his senior year of
high school yet, put
on a blue Michigan SCOTT
hat Sunday night, it BELL
was more than just
a cosmetic decision.
It's what could keep
the Michigan football team around the
top of the college football landscape for
another half decade.
That's because last night, the wunder-
kind running back announced his deci-
sion to leave his home state of Texas to
play his college ball at Michigan in 2008
by placing a blue hat with a maize block
'M' onto his head.
That simple action, along with six
words- "My heart was just with Michi-
gan" - from the mouth of a 6-foot, 188-
pound high school senior-to-be were
enough to energize a fanbase at about
11:45 late Sunday night, when most nor-
mal people were already in bed resting
up to start another work week.
McGuffie chose to don the maize and
blue winged helmet over more than SO
other suitors, including Texas A&M,
Southern Cal, Florida and Notre Dame.
He is rated by Rivals.com as the No.1
all-purpose back in the country.
But even if you're just a casual fan
and don't follow recruiting to the point
where you were online for three straight
hours Sunday night, repeatedly hit-
ting refresh to be the first to hear the
McGuffie news, you may have already
come across the newest Wolverine
without even trying. Maybe instead of
spending hours upon hours of internet
time trolling through recruiting mes-
sage boards, you're more of a YouTube
person. If that's the case, you may have
come across some McGuffie highlights,
like the one of him leaping - yes, leap-
ing - over an opposing defender last fall
(501,000+ views as of Sunday night).
A phenomenal high school highlight
tape reminiscent of Reggie Bush's is just
one of the reasons he's being compared
to the former Heisman Trophy winner.
Some are even calling him the "White
on top
Reggie Bush."
But whether he's black or white, tall
or short, shy or boisterous, McGuffie's
addition to an already decorated class of
2008 should keep the Michigan fan base
excited for years to come.
McGuffie is the ninth four-star recruit
committed to the Wolverines in just the
class of 2008. And even with all the hype
that follows McGuffie, he's actually just
the fifth highest-ranked Wolverine in
that class.
And that's one of the reasons why last
night's announcement was so sweet for
Michigan fans. The excitement surround-
ing McGuffie's commitment can really be
attributed to three different things:
1. Obviously, people are excited
because he's a great player. Whenever
a great athlete, especially one at a mar-
quee skill position like running back,
commits to your program, you should be
ecstatic.
2. The competition that Michigan
took down for McGuffie needs tobe
noted. Yes, the Wolverines have pulled
in nine four-star recruits already. But
few of the recruits, if any, got the full-
court-press attention from so many
high-profile teams as McGuffie did.
Michigan battled with the best for
McGuffie, and it came out on top.
3. McGuffie's addition to this class
makes a strong class even stronger. Most
expect this to be a top-five nationally
ranked class, which is good considering
teams from the North rarely break the
top-five mark. Couple that with the class
of 2007, which includes impact players
like Ryan Mallett and Donovan Warren,
and the future is bright for Michigan.
Really bright.
So while some branches of Wolverine
Nation may be ready to hit panic mode
after the upcoming season - whether
it's Hart, Henne and Long's graduation,
a rumored early bolt to the NFL from
Mario Manningham or the potential
retirement of Michigan coach Lloyd
Carr looming in the near future - don't
be ready to jump off any cliffs just yet.
Because if you jump now, you may
miss future jumps. Whether it's a pro-
verbial jump in the polls or another
McGuffie jump over a defender, Michi-
gan football will still be alive and kick-
ing, even if all the doomsday scenarios
after this season come true.
- Bell can be reached at
scotteb@umich.edu.