Coaching career
Hill began his coaching career with the Texas Rangers' Class-A Tri-City Triplets in 1984. He coached for the Daytona Beach Islanders in 1985 and 1986,then became a Rangers' roving instructor from 1987 to 1991. In 1992,he became the Rangers' infield and first base coach,holding that post through 1995. He spent three years with the Detroit Tigers from 1997 through 1999,which in 1997 became the first MLB club to go from last to first in fielding percentage. He coached the Montreal Expos in 2000 and 2001,then coached the Florida Marlins from 2002 to 2006. [5] He announced his retirement in March 2007, [6] but returned to coaching in 2009 with the Pittsburgh Pirates for one season. [2] The Pirates exercised an option to have Hill coach in 2010,but he declined the team's offer multiple times. [7] [8]
Hill was rehired by the Marlins to coach first base and infield for the 2011 season. [9] After not coaching for the team in 2012 under new manager Ozzie Guillén, [10] Hill returned to the Marlins in 2013. [11] In 2017,he was named the best infield coach by MLB Network. [12] He stayed in Miami until the end of the 2018 season. [13]
Hill was hired by the Seattle Mariners as their first base and infield coach prior to the 2019 season. [14] He coached remotely in 2020,due to health concerns related to the COVID-19 pandemic. [15] He stopped being the Mariners' first base coach in 2022,replaced by Kristopher Negrón,but remained the team's infield coach. [16]
Several players Hill has coached have credited them with improving their defense. Infielder Luis Castillo gave Hill one of his Gold Glove awards,and Dan Uggla and Mike Jacobs had Hill's nickname stitched into their gloves. [6] J. P. Crawford said Hill saved his career and helped him win a Gold Glove. [17]
