Koyie Hill

Koyie Hill

Koyie Hill was first drafted by the LA Dodgers in June of 2000. He stayed in the Dodgers minor league system until they called him when the rosters expanded in September 2003. There really wasn't room for Hill on the Dodgers major league roster because they had an All Star catcher by the name of Paul Lo Duca. So the Dodgers got what they could and traded him to the Arizona Diamondbacks on July 31, 2004 for Steve Finley and Brent Mayne.

Hill got into 13 games before being sidelined with a broken ankle in a play at the plate. It was thought Hill would have been a more prominent player in 2005 based on his potential but he only got to play in 34 games. He was sharing duties as a back up with a team that had 3 catchers. Hill just wasn't in the Diamondback plans and waived him at the start of the 2006. He was headed back to AAA when the Yankees picked him up. Things were going as planned for Hill. A bright career that was thought of was beginning to evaporate.

After the 2006 season the Yankees released him and things weren't looking too good. He wasn't in the Yankees plans either. But then along came the Chicago Cubs and Hill signed a minor league contract on with them in November 2006.

The Cubs called him up in June 2007 to fill in for Henry Blanco who was on the DL. Hill stayed with the club while Blanco was out and backed up Geovany Soto. Hill is a good receiver but his bat is lacking.

Hill stayed in the minor leagues until September 2008 when the Cubs called him up when the roster expanded. Going into 2009 it was expected that Hill would compete with Henry Blanco for the back up spot. The Cubs also acquired Paul Bako but released him before the 2009 season leaving the job open for Hill. They also didn't resign Henry Blanco as a free agent.

Hill has filled in quite a bit playing 83 games in 2009 and 77 in 2010. He does not hit well hitting only .237 in 2009 and .214 in 2010. He also does not have any power hitting only 1 home run over 2 season.

A side note regarding Hill is the story involving a table saw. Following the 2007 Hill had a run in with a table saw and severed his thumb and cut deep into 3 fingers of his right hand. He was able to have the thumb reattached and surgery on his hand. After long therapy he has been able to fight back and perform at a major league level. Truly an amazing effort.

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