Longtime Rutgers baseball coach Fred Hill dies, 84

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.