Rich Hill was born in Boston. He grew up in Milton. And he played for the Red Sox.
So, when it comes to passing along advice for those professional athletes who might be thinking of calling Boston their professional home, the free agent pitcher absolutely nailed his message when appearing on the Bradfo Sho podcast.
Here is Hill on this month's episode of "Uniquely Boston" (brought you buy the City of Boston Credit Union):
"It’s the passion that the fans have. I have played in every major market and when you talk about major markets the question is asked, ‘What is that? It’s New York, Chicago, LA, Boston. Those are the four. That’s it. Those are the four major markets. Being from here an growing up here and having the good fortune of being able to play for the Red Sox — and also the Pawtucket Red Sox — it definitely, I don’t want to say comes forward, but growing up here and going to Red Sox games and being afforded the opportunity to play for the Red Sox and see it all come together, it’s unbelievably special. But I would tell, and I do tell, players that I play with who may be considering free agency, who may be considering a possible move to Massachusetts and Boston, is that it is a passionate city. It really is. What I mean by that is that they pay attention to the games. They understand what is going on. They’re educated fans.
"Wearing the other team’s jersey will get you some flack, I guess if you want to say that. You’re going to hear it from the fans, which is great, as well. I’ve said this before. I said it to Allard Baird, one of the greatest things about being a Red Sox is having that honest opinion from the fans be reciporated immediately. They appreciate effort. They appreciate a good 90 (feet) to first base, whether you roll over to second base or hit a line-drive off the Monster. And the intensity of the player, they love to see that. That’s what people pay good money for. They pay to see that. That’s why you buy the ticket. You buy the emotion. Certainly you get that here in Boston.
"As long as players are true to themselves and they are really bringing out that intensity and that passion, then people will respect that here in the city and will also appreciate the effort the player is bringing.
"They also ask me about the media. It always come up. What is it like? My personal opinion to that is, you’re a professional and you have an obligation as a player, as the media does. But we have an obligation to stand in front of our locker whether you throw a no-hitter or you give up 10 run in the first as a starter. So you have to sit there and take the heat and you also have to be honest about it. You have to be honest about how your outing went. That’s all anybody wants, is your honest opinion. And if you are and you’re not trying to sugar-coat anything you’re going to do fine. And on top of it you’re probably going to play well, too, because you’re not sitting there thinking, ‘What am I going to say after the game? Or how am I going to handle this with the media?’ As opposed to just being yourself. That’s all anybody is asking.
"Fortunately, I think for me, I came up in the Chicago Cubs system, obviously another big market and was fortunate to play around some Hall of Fame players and great players at the time who kind of taught me that rule moving forward. Just be honest with the media. Don’t try and sugar-coat anything. That’s going to help you a lot in your career. So just telling other players that and understanding … I remember sitting next to one player in particular who had just signed a huge deal coming to Boston. I was sitting next to him on the bench. I asked him, ‘How do you like it here?’ And he said, ‘I didn’t know it was going to be this crazy.’ So I said, ‘Hey, this is what it is and it’s great.’ For me as a professional, that’s what I want to play in front of. I want the immediate feedback. If they tell you you suck, you suck. If they tell you you’re great, you’re great. There are no hard feelings about it. You know at the end of the day you look in the mirror you gave everything you could, and that’s it."