Free agent pitcher Rich Hill, who spent the last four seasons with the Los Angeles Dodgers, was arrested at the New England Patriots-Buffalo Bills game on Saturday as he and his wife were charged with disorderly conduct.
Foxborough police told the Boston Globe that Hill’s wife, Caitlin, repeatedly tried to enter Gillette Stadium with an oversized bag. When she was turned away several times and refused to leave the area, police arrested her. That’s when the 15-year MLB veteran intervened.
“He saw her as they were trying to get her into a van to bring to the police station, and he started to interfere with the officers,’’ Robert Bolger, chief administrator for Foxborough police, told the Globe. “He was told several times to back up and he would not. And he ended up getting arrested.”
The Hills were both arraigned Monday, when Rich Hill’s charge of resisting arrest was dismissed and he was fined $500 for disorderly conduct. Caitlin Hill had her criminal charges of disorderly conduct and trespassing converted to civil infractions and was fined a total of $500.
“Despite Saturday’s events, my great respect for law enforcement remains unchanged,” Hill said in a statement released by his attorney. “However, seeing my wife handcuffed for a problem that was started because of her fanny pack was extremely difficult for me to witness. This was all overblown and we are glad to have it behind us.”
A native of Milton, Massachusetts, Hill spent three seasons with the Red Sox from 2010-12. He began his career with the Chicago Cubs in 2005 and played for five other teams before the Dodgers acquired him at the 2016 trade deadline.
Hill, 39, has enjoyed his greatest success in his late 30s with the Dodgers, going 30-16 with a 3.16 ERA over 361 1/3 innings. His three-year, $48 million contract expired this offseason, making him a free agent. However, he will miss at least the first half of the 2020 season recovering from elbow surgery in October.
