Item Flashback: Ken Hill’s All-Star Night

The year 1994 was supposed to be the crowning achievement for the Montreal Expos. Simply put, they were stacked. Pedro Martinez led the way. Moises Alou ? Marquis Grissom ? Larry Walker ? all-stars, all of them.As well as Lynn?s Ken Hill, a graduate of Lynn Classical and North Adams State. After having somewhat of a journeyman?s career in the beginning, Hill flourished when he came to the Expos. He was at his best in 1994, zeroing in on 20 wins and providing a solid No. 2 to Martinez?s No. 1. He was so good, in fact, that he made the National League all-star team.After he made it to the major leagues, he purchased a house on Clairmont Avenue in Lynn for his mother and his family. And on the night of July 12, the Hill family congregated around its television set to watch their son and brother perform.Hill did quite well, keeping the American League off the scoreboard for the two innings he pitched. And the National League eked out a 10-inning 8-7 win over the junior circuit.Baseball fans know what happened in 1994, though. In August, the players struck. There was no World Series, and only a last-minute deal allowed the 1995 season to go on.The Expos, who were flirting with the major leagues? best record at the time of the strike, never won a pennant before moving to Washington and becoming the Nationals. Hill never approached his numbers from 1994 again, and by the end of that season, he was pitching in Cleveland. He even started a game in the 1995 World Series.The rest of the players scattered, with Pedro – of course – ending up in Boston, where he won three Cy Young Awards.