Final Card: Stu Miller

Here's one for you Orioles fans:

Stu Miller (#345) began his minor-league career in 1949. His major-league debut was in 1952 with the Cardinals.

In early 1956, the Cardinals traded him to the Phillies (along with Harvey Haddix) for 2 guys named Murry Dickson (a 39-year-old starting pitcher who led the league in losses from 1952 to 1954) and Herm Wehmeier. At the end of the season, the Phillies traded him to the New York Giants for Jim Hearn, a pitcher in his mid-thirties.

After having been a starter and reliever during his career, Miller became primarily a reliever beginning in 1959. In 1961, he led the NL in saves, and appeared in the all-star game. (I remember Richie Ashburn telling a story on the radio of how Miller was blown off the mound during a game in San Francisco's Candlestick Park. I later learned it was the 1961 all-star game.)



After the 1962 season, Miller was traded to the Orioles in a 6-player deal. He led the AL in games and saves in 1963. He was the Orioles closer for the next 4 years, before being phased out in late 1966 and 1967 in favor of Moe Drabowsky and Eddie Watt.

Prior to the 1968 season, Stu was sold to the Braves, where he made 2 appearances before being released before the end of April. Following that, he appeared in 13 games with the Cardinals' triple-A team in Tulsa.