Brett Michael Pill (born September 9, 1984) is a retired Major League Baseball player. He played for the San Francisco Giants and the Kia Tigers of the KBO League.

Amateur career

Pill attended Covina High School and California State University, Fullerton, where he played for the Cal State Fullerton Titans baseball team. As a freshman in 2004, he played in 50 games but had only 80 at-bats, hitting .313 with two home runs and 17 RBI. In 2005 he hit .327 with nine home runs and 57 RBI for the Titans, and played

collegiate summer baseball Collegiate summer baseball leagues are amateur baseball leagues in the United States and Canada featuring players who have attended at least one year of college and have at least one year of athletic eligibility remaining. Generally, they operat ...

for the Orleans Cardinals of the

Cape Cod Baseball League The Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL or Cape League) is a collegiate summer baseball wooden bat league located on Cape Cod in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. One of the nation's premier collegiate summer leagues, the league boasts over one thousan ...

. In his junior year, Pill hit .328 with five home runs and 40 RBI.

Professional career

Draft and minor leagues

Pill was drafted twice. In 2005, he was drafted in the 45th round (1,362nd overall) by the New York Yankees, however he did not sign. He was drafted in the seventh round (206th overall) of the 2006 amateur draft by the Giants, and he did sign. Pill began his professional career in 2006, playing for the Salem-Keizer Volcanoes. That season, he hit .220 with five home runs and 35 RBI in 60 games. In 2007, he played for the Augusta Greenjackets, hitting .269 with ten home runs and 91 RBI in 137 games. With the San Jose Giants in 2008, Pill hit .266 with nine home runs and 65 RBI in 131 games. He hit .298 with 19 home runs and 109 RBI in 139 games for the Connecticut Defenders in 2009. In 2010 and 2011, Pill played with the Fresno Grizzlies, the AAA affiliate of the Giants, hitting .294 and amassing 41 HR and 191 RBI over the course of two seasons. Prior to being promoted to the major leagues, on August 21, 2011, he led the Pacific Coast League with 101 RBI.

San Francisco Giants

Pill was promoted to the majors on August 31, 2011. He hit a home run in his first Major League at-bat on September 6, 2011 off Wade LeBlanc of the San Diego Padres, becoming the first Giant since Will Clark to accomplish that feat. On September 7, 2011, he joined John Bowker as the only Giant to hit a home run in his first two major league games; Pill is only the 22nd major league player to do so since 1919. He hit .300 with two home runs and nine RBI in 15 games with the Giants that year. After beginning the 2012 season with the Giants, on June 9, 2012, Pill was optioned to Triple-A's Fresno Grizzlies. In 2012, hit .210 with four home runs and 11 RBI in 105 at-bats for the Giants and .285 with 11 home runs and 45 RBI in 246 at-bats for the Grizzlies. Pill was optioned to Triple-A to begin the 2013 season. The Giants recalled Pill from the Fresno Grizzlies on May 13, 2013, but he was sent back to AAA on June 13 after seeing only limited duty. On July 30, 2013, the Giants again recalled Pill, along with rookie Roger Kieschnick.

Kia Tigers

The Giants released Pill on January 2, 2014, so he could sign with the Kia Tigers of the

Korea Baseball Organization The Korea Baseball Organization (KBO; ko, 한국야구위원회) is the governing body for the professional leagues of baseball in South Korea. The KBO was founded in 1981 and has governed two leagues: the KBO League ( ko, KBO 리그) and KBO ...

. He played in 92 games in 2014 and recorded a .309 batting average, with 19 home runs and 66 runs batted in. Pill signed another one-year deal, worth $700,000, with the Tigers on December 8, 2014. In 2015, he hit .325 with 22 home runs and 101 RBIs in 143 games played. In November 2015, the Tigers re-signed Pill to a 1-year, $900,000 deal. He became a free agent at the end of the 2016 season.

Detroit Tigers

On January 10, 2017, Pill signed a minor league contract with the

Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the American League (AL) Central division. One of the AL's eight charter franchises, the club was f ...

that included an invitation to

spring training Spring training is the preseason in Major League Baseball (MLB), a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spring training allows new players to try out for Schedule (workplace), roster and position spo ...

. He retired on March 31, 2017.

Coaching career

In 2020, he was named the hitting coach for the

Tulsa Drillers The Tulsa Drillers are a minor league baseball team based in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The team, which plays in the Texas League, is the Double-A affiliate of the Los Angeles Dodgers major-league club. Stadium The Drillers play at ONEOK Field (pronounc ...

, the AA affiliate of the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Personal life

Pill's brother is MLB pitcher

Tyler Pill Tyler Stephen Pill (born May 29, 1990) is an American former professional baseball pitcher and outfielder. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Mets. Career Amateur Pill was drafted by the Colorado Rockies in the 38th ...

References

External links

Career statistics and player information
from

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pill, Brett Living people 1984 births San Francisco Giants players Salem-Keizer Volcanoes players Augusta GreenJackets players San Jose Giants players Connecticut Defenders players Fresno Grizzlies players Orleans Firebirds players Cal State Fullerton Titans baseball players Kia Tigers players KBO League infielders American expatriate baseball players in South Korea People from San Dimas, California German American People from Covina, California Minor league baseball coaches Bravos de Margarita players American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela