Bobby Hill

William Robert Hill...he and his wife Melissa reside in Gilbert, AZ...graduated in 1996 from Leland High School in San Jose, CA...as a senior, he was a first-team all-American, all-county and all-league selection in baseball... spent three seasons (`97-99) playing collegiately for the University of Miami (FL), earning All-America honors following his sophomore and junior campaigns...also earned freshman All-American honors in 1997...during his junior season, he batted .391 with 10 homers, 30 RBI and 52 steals for the College World Series-champion Hurricanes...at one point during his college career, he reached base via hit or walk in 97 consecutive games (February 9, 1997-April 15, 1998)...played for the U.S. National team during the summer of 1998.

2005

Split the season between Pittsburgh and Triple-A Indianapolis...began the season with Pittsburgh...made his only appearance at second base on April 11 at Milwaukee...hit .421 (8-for-19) with with three doubles and four RBI over seven-game period from April 15-24...did not make a start in a 42-game stretch from May 5 through June 20...had five hits in seven at-bats from June 21-30...made 24 appearances (14 starts) at third base and one appearance at second base while playing with the Pirates...went 9-for-31 (.290) with four RBI as a pinch hitter...Optioned to Indianapolis on July 22 and made his debut with the Indians on July 25 vs. Columbus and went 0-for-4...had season-high four-game hitting streak from August 31 (game two) through September 3... made 19 appearances (17 starts) at second base, 13 appearances at third base (eight starts) one at shortstop and three as the designated hitter for Indianapolis...went 5-for-23 in seven postseason games.

2004

Spent first full season in the majors...His 16 pinch hits fell three shy of club record of 19, set by Jose Pagan in 1969...Tied for third among National League players with 16 pinch-hits (Marlon Anderson and Terrence Long shared the lead with 17 apiece) and led all pinch hitters with 15 runs scored...His 12 HBP's tied for eighth in the league...Made 31 starts @second base and 19 @third base...His two home runs came as a pinch hitter; 5/11 @Colorado (Vladimir Nunez) and 7/18 vs. Florida (Billy Koch)...Was Pittsburgh's Opening Day starter @second base...Went 5-for-12 (.417) in his first four games and was hitting .312 following the action on 5/27...Had season-high three hits on 5/13 @Colorado (game two)...Made first career appearance @third base as a starter on 5/14 @San Francisco...Snapped an 0-for-12 streak on 6/2...Committed first error of the year (throwing) on 6/2 vs. St. Louis...Made second and final error on 6/16; a fielding miscue while playing second base vs. Anaheim...Went 6-for-15 (.400) during career-high six-game hitting streak from 6/29 thru 7/7...Delivered walkoff single off St. Louis' Julian Tavarez on 6/30 @PNC Park to complete three-game sweep of Cardinals...Tripled off Montreal's Shawn Hill on 7/9 in San Juan (his first triple since 9/29/02) and collected season-high three RBI...Hit .304 (20-for-46) during the month of July, but had just two multi-hit games...Made just two starts after 8/27 (both @third base)...Made final start @second base on 8/27 vs. St. Louis...Hit .318 (7-for-22) over his last 23 games...Hit .327 (18-for-55) when leading off an inning and .340 (17-for-50) with men on base and two outs.

2003

Began season with Iowa (Cubs' AAA) and batted just .216 during the month of April...Hit safely in 14 of his 16 games (24-for-79, .304) from 4/29 thru 5/16, raising average from .205 to .273...Had season-high four RBI on 6/5 vs. New Orleans...Made his first professional appearance @third base on 6/11...Was recalled by Chicago (NL) on 6/16 and struck out as a pinch hitter that night @Cincinnati...Went 1-for-4 in five games with the Cubs before being optioned back to Triple-A on 6/26...Picked up lone hit with the Cubs on 6/20 vs. Chicago (AL)...Made both defensive appearances @second base...Batted .418 (23-for-55) in 15 games with Iowa during the month of July, which included a 10-game hitting streak from 7/5-17 (20-for-37, .541)...Produced seven straight multi-hit games from 7/8-17, including a four-hit performance on 7/8 vs. Colorado Springs...Was on the disabled list from 7/22 thru 8/6 with a strained left calf...Was acquired by Pittsburgh on 8/15 and assigned to Nashville (AAA)...Hit lone home run with the Sounds on 8/22 vs. Oklahoma...Made all 16 defensive appearances @second base...Was recalled by the Pirates on 9/13. ...Made lone appearance with the Bucs on 9/14 vs. Philadelphia, going 1-for-3 with a walk and a run scored (played second base). ...Did not appear in a game following his debut with the Bucs due to lower back problems.

2002

Bobby played in 151 total games for the Cubs and Iowa (AAA), hitting .270 for the season (147-544) with 106 runs scored, 30 doubles, 12 homers, 59 RBI and 35 steals ... had two stints on the Cubs' roster (May 10-June 11 and August 26 through the end of the season)...in his first 59 major league games, he batted .253 with 15 multi-hit contests, 4 homers, 20 RBI and 6 steals ... the switch-hitter hit .225 as a left-handed batter with 4 homers and .327 as a right-handed hitter...in his 25 starts out of the leadoff spot, he batted .292 with a .348 on-base percentage...made his big league debut May 10 vs. Milwaukee, starting at second base and going 0-for-4 with a walk ... recorded his first hit in his next game (May 12), an infield single off the Brewers' Glendon Rusch...had his first multi-hit game May 14 at St. Louis, going 2-for-4 with a double and 2 runs scored...on May 23 vs. Pittsburgh, he went 3-for-5 with his first big league homer -- a 2-run shot off Kris Benson ... also had a triple, 4 RBI and 2 runs scored in the contest...his second big league homer was a 9th-inning game-tying solo shot May 27 off Pittsburgh closer Mike Williams...was hitting .182 in 30 games when he was optioned to Iowa in June ... after rejoining the Cubs in late August, he batted .314 in 29 games (32-102) with 6 doubles, 1 triple, 2 homers, 13 RBI, a pair of 3-hit contests and a 4-hit game...recorded his first career 4-hit game September 12 at Cincinnati, going 4-for-5 with a double, 3 RBI and 4 runs scored...his 9th-inning RBI single September 28 vs. Pittsburgh gave the Cubs a 5-4 victory....in his 55 appearances at second base (48 starts), he committed 2 errors in 215 total chances for a .991 fielding percentage ... participated in 31 double plays...in 92 games for Iowa, he batted .280 with 80 runs scored, 8 homers, 39 RBI, 29 steals and a .382 on-base percentage ... played in the annual midsummer Triple-A all-star game....was selected as the Pacific Coast League's 9th-best prospect by Baseball America in that publication's annual end-of-season survey of league managers...got off to a slow start, largely due to a late spring flu-like virus ... after hitting .161 in his first 17 contests, he went on a stretch from April 27 until his first promotion to the majors in which he batted .396 in 12 games (19-48) with 12 runs scored.

2001

Bobby missed two months of the season due to a pair of stints on the disabled list with a strained left groin ... saw action in 57 games for West Tenn (AA), 3 games for Mesa (Rookie) during an injury rehab assignment and 3 games for Iowa (AAA) during the Pacific Coast League playoffs...at West Tenn, he batted .301 with 3 homers, 21 RBI and 20 stolen bases...played in 54 games at second base, committing 6 errors in 222 total chances ... also appeared in 1 game at shortstop (April 30 at Tennessee)...was on the injured list May 4-May 19 and June 13-August 8...had a .315 average with 16 steals in 35 games prior to his second trip to the disabled list... was added to Iowa's roster for the postseason and went 1-for-13 in 3 games...played for Mesa in the Arizona Fall League after the season -- and finished 6th in the league with a .345 average.

2000

Bobby spent his first professional campaign playing for the Newark Bears in the independent Atlantic League ... earned league all-star honors after batting .326 in 132 games with 13 homers, 82 RBI and 81 steals...led the league in hits (157) and on-base percentage (.442) ... ranked among the league leaders in batting average (3rd), stolen bases (2nd), runs scored (2nd with 109) and triples (3rd with 9)...drew 101 walks in 594 trips to the plate while striking out just 57 times.