Rich Hill Quotations

I think it was more internal. Sometimes people don't want to perform to the level they should be performing at for some reason. I've been thinking about it and your integrity is so important. When you go out there, no matter who's up or you're facing, you still have to go after them with the same intensity. In the final stage, that's where your integrity is going to be saved.

I think overall it was pretty poor. It wasn't a very good outing. I think that one of the things that needs to be improved on is just the attitude of going out and getting after it.

That's what happens when you've got guys with good stuff throwing strikes all day.

I was one of those overachieving middle infielders who had to figure it out if I wanted to play more.

Those are the kind of teams I've always been around. Scrappy guys who like to train hard, put the team first and have an intense desire to succeed. So the superstar thing kind of goes out the window.

We've got the No. 1 team in the country here under an atypical San Diego environment. We've got people in San Diego who wake up in the morning and they go to Cardiff, they go to Swamis, they go to the Seaside Market, they hang out, they go jogging or they go play tennis. They're doing all these things, but now we've got a sold-out environment for baseball.

To achieve the highest ranking in the school's history is something the entire USD community can take pride in.

Absolutely. When you're pitching well, and you're pitching with good tempo, the guys will make the plays behind you. You might get away with a bad pitch because you have good tempo and you have that look in your eyes. I'm glad I figured it out now instead of July.

It's been awesome, man. It's changed so much for us exposure-wise, especially here in San Diego. There are a lot of great players here who used to go up (Interstate) 5 to go to school (in the Los Angeles area), and we're trying to keep them home. This validates what we're doing, getting those players and winning.

It's great ? it says a lot for the organization. Each one of us has come up through the system. You have to give a lot of credit to the pitching coaches and the hard work they put in with us. It's big for us and just as big for them to see us come up here and be at this level.

It was a great time growing up in the '70s. I was just one of those kids, throwing a tennis ball against the garage door, shooting hoops until my mom yelled at me to come in late at night. I always knew at some point I was going to be a coach, and I knew it was going to be baseball.

As you know, we can use all the RPI help we can get out here in the West. It's insane, man. I just asked Eric Valenzuela the other day, who scheduled this thing? It looks great on the schedule card and the Internet, but when you get out and play these teams, it's not easy.

I know it's that good and I know I can throw it anywhere. I've thrown it here, I've thrown it in Las Vegas last year. It's not the weather. That's an excuse.