John Miller was born on Tuesday, March 14, 1944, in Alhambra, California. Miller was 22 years old when he broke into the big leagues on September 11, 1966, with the New York Yankees. His biographical data, year-by-year hitting stats, fielding stats, pitching stats (where applicable), career totals, uniform numbers, salary data and miscellaneous items-of-interest are presented by Baseball Almanac on this comprehensive John Miller baseball stats page.
"Young players will get a real long look next spring. STEVE WHITAKER, who was called up last week, has been pounding the cover off the ball, but will he keep it up? Whitaker is 23. BOBBY MURCER, a 20-year-old shortstop, will get a second chance after spending the season at Toledo. Also in the running are STAN BAHNSEN, 21, a righty hurler who tossed a no-hitter at Toledo; FRANK FERNANDEZ, 23, a catcher, with a good arm; MIKE HEGAN, a 24-year-old first baseman; JOHN MILLER, a 22-year-old first baseman and outfielder, BILL HENRY, 24, a southpaw hurler. Minor League options have run out on Hegan who must make it in 1967 or be set free. If three of this group can make the big jump to the majors, the Yankees will be doing well." - Saul, Ray. Hazleton Standard-Speaker Sports Editor. Speaking of Sports. 29 August 1966. Page 18.
John MillerJohn Miller Autograph on a Yankees of the '60's Card (#88) |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Biographical Data | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
John MillerJohn Miller Pitching Stats |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||
Year | Age | Team | G | GS | GF | W | L | PCT | ERA | CG | SHO | SV | IP | BFP | H | ER | R | HR | BB | IBB | SO | WP | HB | BK | HLD |
- | - | Did Not Pitch | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
Career | G | GS | GF | W | L | PCT | ERA | CG | SHO | SV | IP | BFP | H | ER | R | HR | BB | IBB | SO | WP | HB | BK | HLD |
John MillerJohn Miller Hitting Stats |
|||||||||||||||||||||
Year | Age | Team | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | GRSL | RBI | BB | IBB | SO | SH | SF | HBP | GIDP | AVG | OBP | SLG |
1966 | 22 | Yankees | 6 | 23 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .087 | .087 | .217 |
1969 | 25 | Dodgers | 26 | 38 | 3 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .211 | .250 | .316 |
Career | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | GRSL | RBI | BB | IBB | SO | SH | SF | HBP | GIDP | AVG | OBP | SLG | ||
2 Years | 32 | 61 | 4 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 18 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .164 | .190 | .279 |
John MillerJohn Miller Fielding Stats |
||||||||||||||||
Team | POS | G | GS | OUTS | TC | TC/G | CH | PO | A | E | DP | PB | CASB | CACS | FLD% | RF |
1966 Yankees | 1B | 3 | 3 | 69 | 16 | 5.3 | 16 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 1 | n/a | n/a | n/a | 1.000 | 6.26 |
1966 Yankees | LF | 3 | 3 | 84 | 4 | 1.3 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | n/a | n/a | n/a | 1.000 | 1.29 |
1969 Dodgers | 1B | 5 | 2 | 69 | 32 | 6.4 | 32 | 29 | 3 | 0 | 2 | n/a | n/a | n/a | 1.000 | 12.52 |
1969 Dodgers | 2B | 1 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 1.0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | n/a | n/a | n/a | 1.000 | 4.50 |
1969 Dodgers | 3B | 2 | 1 | 36 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .000 | 0.00 |
1969 Dodgers | LF | 6 | 2 | 84 | 1 | 0.2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | n/a | n/a | n/a | 1.000 | 0.32 |
Career | POS | G | GS | OUTS | TC | TC/G | CH | PO | A | E | DP | PB | CASB | CACS | FLD% | RF |
LF Totals | 9 | 5 | 168 | 5 | 0.6 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | n/a | n/a | n/a | 1.000 | 0.80 | |
1B Totals | 8 | 5 | 138 | 48 | 6.0 | 48 | 45 | 3 | 0 | 3 | n/a | n/a | n/a | 1.000 | 9.39 | |
3B Totals | 2 | 1 | 36 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .000 | 0.00 | |
2B Totals | 1 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 1.0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | n/a | n/a | n/a | 1.000 | 4.50 | |
2 Years | 20 | 11 | 348 | 54 | 2.7 | 54 | 50 | 4 | 0 | 3 | n/a | n/a | n/a | 1.000 | 4.19 |
John MillerJohn Miller Miscellaneous Stats |
||||||||||||
Baserunning Statistics | Other Positions | Common Hitting Ratios | Common Pitching Ratios | |||||||||
Team | SB | CS | SB% | PH | PR | DH | AB/HR | AB/K | AB/RBI | K/BB | K/9 | BB/9 |
1966 Yankees | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 | n/a | 23.0 | 2.6 | 11.5 | - | - | - |
1969 Dodgers | 0 | 0 | .000 | 17 | 2 | n/a | 38.0 | 4.2 | 38.0 | - | - | - |
Career | SB | CS | SB% | PH | PR | DH | AB/HR | AB/K | AB/RBI | K/BB | K/9 | BB/9 |
2 Years | 0 | 0 | .000 | 17 | 2 | n/a | 30.5 | 3.4 | 20.3 | - | - | - |
John MillerJohn Miller Miscellaneous Items of Interest |
||||
Team | Roster | Uniform Numbers | Salary | All-Star | World Series |
1966 New York Yankees | 45 | Undetermined | - | - |
1969 Los Angeles Dodgers | 43 | Undetermined | - | - |
John Miller Stats by Baseball Almanac |
John Allen Miller was a Major League Baseball player with the New York Yankees (1966) and Los Angeles Dodgers (1969). Did you know that Miller was the first player from the New York Yankees to hit a home run in his first at-bat? Too easy? Did you know that both his first (September 11, 1966) and last (September 23, 1969) career hits were home runs?
John Miller Rookie Card | 1969 Topps Baseball Card (#641 | Checklist)
Baseball Almanac Research Library
Did you know that John Miller is not the only player in Major League history to hit a home run in his first at-bat and last at bat? If you don't know who the first player was, read more about him today on his online baseball card.
John Miller HR in 1st AB (Box Score) | Hazleton Standard-Speaker | September 12, 1966 | Page 18Baseball Almanac Research Library
The Chunichi Dragons, one of the most powerful teams in the Nippon Professional Baseball league, signed the struggling John Miller after he was let go by the Los Angeles Dodgers. Miller made even more history in Japan, though it wasn't the kind he probably wanted:
In 1972, John Miller became the first American to be released solely for his misconduct. Miller, who played briefly for the Yankees and Dodgers, arrived in Japan in 1970 and soon became the most dangerous batter on the Chunichi Dragons. He was a battler. A U.S. coach once said, "Miller is the kind of guy I'd want on my team. He'll fight you with everything he has. He doesn't know how to quit."
However, Miller wasn't the kind of guy the Japanese wanted. He was seldom on time for practice. If a workout was scheduled for 2 p.m., Miller would arrive at 2:10. This was more serious than it sounds, because his teammates would invariably be raring to go by 1:50.
"He always had some excuse," says a team official. "One day it would be because the traffic was heavy. Another day, he'd missed the train. He never once said he was sorry."
When reprimanded for being late, Miller's response was most un-Oriental: "Japanese customs are too military. I do good in the games, don't I? What else matters?"
Miller's hot temper sealed his fate as a Dragon. The coup de grace came in the 12th inning of a big game. Miller had been slumping, and he had a bad game. He had been up four times without a hit. The fifth time, with the score tied, he was removed for a pinch hitter.
Miller blew his top. "You didn't have to take me out," he railed at his manager. "I've had it. I don't want to play for you anymore. I don't care if this team wins or not."
To Americans it would have been a fairly routine example of blowing off steam. To the Japanese, however, Miller might just as well have slit his throat. Although he later apologized and finished the year as the team leader in home runs, he was released at the end of the season.
Source: Whiting, Robert. Sports Illustrated Writer. You've Gotta Have 'wa'." Robert Whiting. 24 September 1979.
John Miller did not pinch hit once for the Yankees in 1966, but he did pinch hit seventeen times with the Dodgers in 1969, fifth most on the team, behind Len Gabrielson (40x), Bill Russell (23x), Willie Crawford (22x), and Ken Boyer (21x).