LOS ANGELES >> Left-hander Rich Hill knew that when he went looking for work in 2015 it was going to be difficult to get a major league team to give him a chance because he wanted to go back to starting, which he had done the first five years of his career before becoming a reliever in 2010 for the Boston Red Sox.
So Hill signed with the Long Island Ducks of the independent Atlantic League a little over a year ago. That began a journey that landed him back in the major leagues.
“I don’t think they (major league teams) would give me the opportunity to (start) at that time until I went out and proved myself again, and I did that in independent ball,” said Hill, who was recently acquired by the Dodgers in a trade.