For three seasons, former LSU baseball player and current Toronto Blue Jays prospect Aaron Hill graced the diamond of Alex Box Stadium before moving on to the royalties of professional baseball in June’s Major League Baseball draft.
In late December, the 2003 SEC Player of the Year decided to give some of those royalties back to the program that helped him reach the level he is at today.
LSU coach Smoke Laval and the Tigers baseball program received a cash gift from Hill, which was used to upgrade the carpet in the squad room, the locker room, training room and umpires’ dressing room along with replacing all of the players’ stools in the locker room.
“I was stunned,” said Laval of the gift. “He calls out of the blue over the holidays and wants to drop by and the next thing you know, he’s handing me a check. I was speechless. I mean, it doesn’t surprise me because that’s A. Hill, that’s him, but you never expect such generosity.”
Hill could not be reached for comment at press time.
Hill hit .358 in 2003 with nine home runs and 67 RBIs in leading LSU to the College World Series. The Toronto Blue Jays selected him with the 13th overall pick in the 2003 MLB draft.
Hill performed well in his rst summer in the minor leagues, hitting four home runs with 34 RBIs and a .361 average for the Auburn Doubledays and .286 with the Dunedin Blue Jays.
In his freshman season at LSU in 2001, Hill hit .299 with five home runs and 36 RBIs in limited playing time. In 2002, as a full-time starter at shortstop, Hill hit .329 with nine home runs and 47 RBIs.
“You see, Aaron Hill gets it,” Laval said. “He gave us a lot while he was here as a player, but he has acknowledged on his own, without prompting, that he received a lot in return. To my knowledge, no player has ever given back directly to the baseball program like this, especially so soon after nishing his career here. It’s the nicest thing that a former player of mine has ever done.”
Hill will be among the roster of LSU alumni players returning for this weekend’s Alumni Game on Friday at 6:30 p.m. in Alex Box Stadium and will be honored at the game.
“People need to know what he has done and how much this place and this program have meant to him to make such a gift,” Laval said. “And we plan to show him our appreciation and give the fans a chance to thank him properly as well.”