Major League Baseball

Longtime Rutgers baseball coach Fred Hill dies at 84

Updated Mar. 4, 2020 10:27 p.m. ET

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PISCATAWAY, N.J. (AP) — Fred Hill, who coached Rutgers baseball for 30 years and sent a dozen players to the major leagues, died Saturday. He was 84.

The university did not give a cause.

Hill retired in 2014 and his 941 victories are the most of any sport at Rutgers. Overall, he had 1,089 college wins. He is a member of American Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame and the Rutgers Athletics Hall of Fame.

He ended his career ranked 32nd in college baseball wins. His first seven seasons were at Montclair State.

"Fred Hill was more than a Hall of Fame coach, he was a Hall of Fame person," Rutgers athletic director Pat Hobbs said in a statement. "His impact is far greater than 1,089 career baseball victories. It's beyond measure and lives within the countless individuals he coached, mentored and inspired."

Hill developed 20 All-Americans and sent 73 players to professional baseball, among them Todd Frazier of the New York Mets.

"He was a perfectionist. Always wanted the most out of people," Frazier said. "From his great quotes that no one understood to his amazing wife. ... (Hill) inspired me to be the best baseball player I could be. Off the field, he taught me true skills to be a great man."

Hill retired with a record of 941-658-7 in 30 years at Rutgers. He earned 11 NCAA Regional appearances, 12 regular-season conference championships and eight conference tournament titles during his tenure. Hill finished with a record of 1,089-749-9 (.592) in 37 seasons.

Current Rutgers coach Joe Litterio said Hill "taught us to do things the right way, to win with class."

"Nothing fancy, just old-fashioned hard work," Litterio added "And that was just the baseball side of him. He taught us much more than the fundamentals of baseball. He taught us the fundamentals of life."

Hill lived in Verona, New Jersey. He is survived by his wife of 62 years, Evelyn, and six children: Nancy, Fred, Linda, Jim, Tracey and Karen.

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