Ever since the Los Angeles Dodgers acquired Rich Hill from the Oakland Athletics in 2016, he has been hampered by blister issues on his pitching hand.
The blisters have again caused him problems in 2018 as Hill was removed from his most recent start on May 19 against the Washington Nationals after throwing just two pitches. He was subsequently placed on the 10-day disabled list for a second time this season.
While Hill has been on the DL, Hill has continued throwing bullpen sessions and pitched in a simulated game. Although that might sound counterintuitive for someone dealing with a blister, he’s protected the left middle finger with tape.
Hill petitioned the Major League Baseball Rules Committee to see if he can wear in a game with the tape on his finger, something that no pitcher has ever done. The Dodgers also reached out to the league on his behalf.
The committee predictably denied Hill’s request for this season but he will have the opportunity to further state his case at this year’s Winter Meetings, according to Bill Plunkett of the Southern California News Group:
In the meantime, Hill was on a conference call Friday with MLB officials Joe Torre (chief baseball officer) and Peter Woodfork (senior vice president, baseball operations) and Kevin Slowey of the players’ union to plead his case for a therapeutic use exemption (TUE) that would allow pitchers to pitch with some form of protection over a blister.
There will be no exemption for Hill during the season or rule change to allow pitchers to throw in games with bandaids or medical tape on their pitching hand. But Hill has been invited to make a presentation to MLB’s rules committee at the Winter Meetings this December.
The reason Hill is so passionate about this is because hitters get to put tape on their fingers and use gloves, so he feels pitchers should be able to do that same. He also believes the recent development of baseballs not being made in a consistent manner has made them more conducive to pitchers developing blisters.
There is some good news in regards to Hill, as his blister is healing each day and he is getting closer to being able to pitch without the tape. Given that he has been able to keep his arm in shape, once Hill can throw without the tape, his return may be just around the corner.
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