Back in March, Rich Hill and his wife Caitlin launched “Field of Genes,” a campaign to support Massachusetts General Hospital for Children in their research of rare genetic diseases. It stemmed from the Hills losing their son, Bryce, five years ago to a mysterious disease.
The Hills began their effort on the nationally recognized Rare Disease Day with a $575,000 donation. The couple by all accounts is revered in several communities and Hill regularly drew praise from his Los Angeles Dodgers teammates.
As Hill remains a free agent and on the mend from surgery to detach a torn portion of the UCL in his left elbow, he and his wife were on hand at Gillette Stadium to watch the New England Patriots face the Kansas City Chiefs in a key AFC East divisional game.
However, they both were arrested over an issue with Caitlin being denied entrance because of the size of her bag, per John R. Ellement of The Boston Globe:
Richard J. Hill, a veteran pitcher for several Major League baseball teams including the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Boston Red Sox, and his wife were arrested outside Gillette Stadium Saturday after Caitlin A. Hill repeatedly tried to enter the stadium with an oversized bag and then refused to leave the grounds when ordered to do so by Foxboro police, police said Monday.
Richard Hill was charged with disorderly conduct and resisting when he allegedly tried to stop police from putting his wife into a prisoner transport vehicle for a ride to the police station for booking on disorderly conduct and trespassing charges, according to police.
Charges against the Hills were changed to civil infractions and both paid a fine:
Both Hills were arraigned Monday in Wrentham District Court, but the criminal charges against the couple were changed into civil infractions by Norfolk District Attorney Michael Morrissey’s office. Richard Hill’s charge of resisting arrest, a felony, was dismissed prior to arraignment by Morrissey’s office in the “interests of justice,” said Morrissey spokesman David Traub.
Caitlin Hill’s two charges were converted into civil infractions and she was ordered to pay a fine of $250 each and Richard Hill was fined $500 for the single count of disorderly conduct he faced, according to Traub, who said it was “not unusual” for Morrissey’s office “to convert disorderly conduct and trespassing charges in that way.”
Hill, who is known to have a fiery personality, was recently voted winner of the 2019 Tony Conigliaro Award. It is presented each year to a “Major Leaguer who has overcome adversity through the attributes of spirit, determination, and courage that were trademarks of Tony C.”
Voting was completed by an 18-person committee headed by Boston Red Sox team historian Gordon Edes and comprised of team officials, media members, MLB executives, fan representatives, and Conigliaro’s brothers, Richie and Billy.
The Tony Conigliaro Award has been given every year since 1990 in memory of the former Red Sox outfielder, whose career was tragically shortened when he was hit by a pitch in 1967. Conigliaro passed away in 1990 at the age of 45.
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