Before there was Rich Hill, there was Paul Byrd
The words from Alex Cora after his team's 2-0 loss to the Blue Jays Thursday was the exact same sentiment passed on by his former manager, Terry Francona, 15 years before.
"He’s not here just to hang out. He’s here to contribute," the Sox manager said.
This time, the message was because of Rich Hill, the 44-year-old who has now appeared in a game in each of the last 20 seasons after retiring all four batters he faced in his 2024 debut, striking out a pair. It was the kind of signature moment on the Fenway Park field that will be tough to forget.
It's the same reason that game pitched by Paul Byrd on Aug. 30, 2009 is embedded in so many Red Sox' fans' memories.
Same sort of importance. Same sort of results. And, remarkably, same sort of story.
Like Hill, Byrd chose to prioritize his 12-year-old son over continuing a major league career, serving as a coach for the Georgia Roadrunners while eyeing a possible return to the big leagues for the final couple of months in the 2009 season.
Like Hill, Byrd's commitment to mentoring his son culminated with a trip to an early-August tournament in Cooperstown just before signing a minor-league deal with the Red Sox.
And like Hill, Byrd needed very little time to find his way from Little League field to major league diamond, ultimately landing at Fenway for a game few will ever forget.
Six innings. Three hits. No runs. A win over one of the best pitchers in the game at the time, Roy Halladay.
"(Francona) said, ‘Hey, go have fun.’ I’m like, ‘Go have fun?’ It’s apparent not a lot is expected, and probably rightfully so," Byrd recalled during his appearances on the Baseball Isn't Boring podcast. "In this game against Halladay had the same feel. Man, you have been throwing to Little League kids. You’ve been throwing to batting practice. You have been only throwing 60-feet, six inches for less than two weeks and you’re facing Halladay. Just go and eat some innings and see how long you can survive. I’m like, ‘I’m here to win. We’re in a playoff race. There are no guarantees. This is a very crucial game. I don’t care if it is Halladay, I want to win.’
"I just remember walking off the field and everybody thinking I was probably done, but at that point seeing the crowd rise and elevate was a very, very special memory for me. Beating Halladay, such a great pitcher. Being under-trained. And Terry Francona greeting me in the dugout just saying, ‘Wow!’ And he points to the scoreboard and says again, ‘Wow!’ And gives me a big hug. At that point the Josh Becketts and the Dustin Pedroias and everybody coming over, it’s a different kind of hug and giving knuckles in the dugout when you come in and help a team during a crucial playoff run."
The emotion and reaction wasn't all that different from the Red Sox' dugout upon Hill's exit.
While Byrd was six years younger than Hill during his late-August return, the comparisons are eerily easy. Both pitchers called upon just a few weeks after throwing batting practice to Little Leaguers. Both pitchers perfectly content throwing fastballs in the mid-80's. And both fathers who came away with a sense of satisfaction that their priorities had paid off.
"At that point I had played 19 years between the minors and the big leagues and about 13 or 14 in the big leagues and my boys were getting older," Byrd said. "My wife, who is the reasoning sounding board, the wisdom in our family, said, ‘What’s the point of money if you miss your kids grow up?’ I wanted to win a World Series and there were other things I wanted to do. I didn’t need to throw hard to get guys out. I wasn’t a No. 1 or No. 2 pitcher but I could eat innings and I wasn’t going to panic in playoffs or things like that. So I had a purpose for teams that were hurting in that area. That’s why. I coached my kids. I threw everybody BP. Twelve-year-olds were like, ‘Throw me a slider!’ They have no chance. But little things like that where kids would go nuts. There were ways I would stay in shape, like long-toss. It’s something I had been doing all my life.
"Like Rich Hill, it’s not like he’s a rookie. All the mistakes those little tweaks he needs to do to fine-tune his changeup or curve, he’s not going to need a lot of time to get that in shape provided he’s healthy."
It turned out, Hill didn't need a lot of time. Two Triple-A innings, to be exact.
How the story of Hill and the Red Sox go from here will play out in the coming weeks. For Byrd, it was a bit of a roller coaster, struggling in his second start but bouncing back for a five-inning, two-run outing against the Orioles. In all, the righty finished off the final year of his career making seven appearances (6 starts), with the Red Sox going 4-3 in his appearances on the way to a postseason berth.
To this point however, it is the same image and virtually the same story. As Hill reminded us Thursday night, the whole package is something that should be appreciated ... until whatever pitcher does the same sort of thing 15 years from now.
"They aren't oing to be panicking if I’m throwing 85. It won’t mean I’m not ready. That’s what I throw so all is well," Byrd said. "For a younger pitcher, it might take you two months to get back in the groove. But as a veteran, it might take you two pitches. So Rich Hill doesn’t need time to figure it out."