The Philadelphia Phillies have received an unexpected boost from one of their newest additions, with outfielder Derek Hill making an immediate impact on both sides of the ball during the club’s recent surge.
Hill has already delivered clutch home runs since arriving from the Chicago White Sox, but one spectacular defensive play against the division rival New York Mets may have generated even more attention.
“Hill left his teammates in awe when he reached high above the right-center-field wall to rob (Juan) Soto of a first-inning homer in Friday night’s 2-1 victory over the Mets at Citi Field,” MLB.com’s Paul Casella reported late last month. “Acquired from the White Sox on June 11, the newcomer hit a go-ahead two-run homer with the Phillies down to their last out in Wednesday’s 5-4 victory over the (Washington) Nationals. He added another two-run homer in the ninth inning one night later as the Phillies continued their historic streak of late-game heroics.”
Philadelphia Phillies’ New Outfielder Offers Bold Response To New York Mets Superstar Juan Soto
As Hill quickly racked up the heroics against his new team’s biggest rivals, his catch was certainly noticed by Soto, who mentioned it to him directly shortly afterward.
“Yeah, the next day, I can’t remember what I did, but I made it to first (base) or something and (Soto) just came by and said, ‘Hey, don’t let that happen again,’” Hill recalled during a recent appearance on MLB Network. “I was like, ‘Hey, you better hit it to somebody else.’”
The exchange highlighted the mutual respect between the two players after one of the best defensive plays of Hill’s career, but it also underscored the fact that Hill won’t back down during an exchange with arguably the best hitter (and the highest paid player) in the sport.
Philadelphia Phillies Find New Hero In Outfielder Derek Hill
In recent seasons, the Phillies have routinely searched for outfield reinforcements without any newcomer really seizing a long-term everyday opportunity. While Hill has offered a notable boost in his early tenure, he’s likely to only play against left-handed pitchers.
But still, as his highlight defensive play and interaction with Soto made clear, he has been a positive sparkplug for the roster, even in a short time.
“I go all the way out every single day, as you can see, with the catches,” Hill added during his appearance on MLB Network. “I’ve been with seven, eight different organizations now so just being able to go in, kind of fit in with the clubhouses, kind of be a little chameleon, and just bring some positivity and some energy to every single clubhouse I go to, I kind of pride myself on that.”
That approach appears to be paying dividends so far in Philadelphia.