Bob Miller (pitcher, born 1939)

Bob Miller
Pitcher
Born: (1939-02-18)February 18, 1939
St. Louis, Missouri, U.S.
Died: August 6, 1993(1993-08-06) (aged 54)
Rancho Bernardo, California, U.S.
Batted: Right
Threw: Right
MLB debut
June 26, 1957, for the St. Louis Cardinals
Last MLB appearance
September 28, 1974, for the New York Mets
MLB statistics
Win–loss record69–81
Earned run average3.37
Strikeouts895
Teams
Career highlights and awards

Robert Lane Miller (February 18, 1939 – August 6, 1993) was an American professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a right-handed pitcher from 1957 to 1974. Miller played for three World Series champions: the 1963 Los Angeles Dodgers, 1965 Los Angeles Dodgers and the 1971 Pittsburgh Pirates—five league champions (the above three plus the 1966 Los Angeles Dodgers and the 1973 New York Mets) and four division winners, as well as for four teams that lost 100 or more games in a season.[1]

Miller played for ten teams during his major league career, tying a modern-day record (since 1900) with Dick Littlefield that has since been broken.[2][3] He played with three teams in each of three seasons: the Cleveland Indians, Chicago White Sox and Chicago Cubs in 1970; the Cubs, San Diego Padres and Pittsburgh Pirates in 1971; and the Padres, Detroit Tigers and New York Mets in 1973.[4]

Steve Treder of the Hardball Times described Miller as a "whatever-is-needed utility pitcher".[1] Former teammate Roy Hartsfield, who managed the Toronto Blue Jays when Miller was the team's pitching coach, called him "The Christian", a nickname he earned "because he suffers so much", noting that Miller was a part-time reliever with a sore arm, but that "when we came up with some other sore arms on the staff he would come in and suffer a few innings."[5]

His 12 consecutive losses at the start of the 1962 season with the Mets stood as a club record until it was broken by Anthony Young in 1993.[6]

  1. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference Hardball was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Staff. "People in Sports; Davis Joins Angels, Ninth Club of Career", The New York Times, June 3, 1976; accessed October 1, 2008.
  3. ^ "Most Franchises Played For", Baseball-Reference. Accessed October 6, 2008.
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference Career was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference StPeteTimes1977 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference NYTObit was invoked but never defined (see the help page).