#499 Stu Miller - Baltimore Orioles

Stuart Leonard Miller
Baltimore Orioles
Pitcher

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  5'11"  Weight:  165
Born:  December 26, 1927, Northampton, MA
Signed:  Signed by the St. Louis Cardinals as an amateur free agent before 1949 season
Major League Teams:  St. Louis Cardinals 1952-1954, 1956; Philadelphia Phillies 1956; New York Giants 1957; San Francisco Giants 1958-1962; Baltimore Orioles 1963-1967; Atlanta Braves 1968
Died:  January 4, 2015, Cameron Park, CA (age 87)

Primarily a reliever throughout his 16-year major league career, Stu Miller won the National League ERA title in 1958, was an All-Star in 1961 and led the league in saves twice.  He'd rely on a slow curveball and a deceptive delivery to become one of the most effective relievers of his era.  Miller began his career with the Cardinals, where he pitched in parts of four seasons, and he spent a brief time with the Phillies before his career took off with the Giants in 1958.  His 2.47 ERA over 182 innings pitched was tops in the league that season and he earned a place in the All-Star Game a few years later in 1961.  Miller is the pitcher who was memorably "blown" off the mound during the Mid-Summer Classic at Candlestick Park that year, resulting in a balk.  He'd ultimately win the game, recording four strikeouts.  As the Giants' closer in 1962, Miller helped the team win the National League pennant.  He recorded over 20 saves in three different seasons, leading the league in 1961 with the Giants and in 1963 with his new club, the Orioles.

Miller found late career success with the Orioles, earning MVP votes for his relief work in 1963, 1965 and 1966.  On April 30, 1967, Miller and starting pitcher Steve Barber (#113) combined to throw a no-hitter in a losing effort for the Orioles.  Miller surrendered Mickey Mantle's (#350) 500th career home run on May 14, 1967.  He retired from baseball in 1968 with a career record of 105-103 and a 3.24 ERA in 704 appearances.  At the time of his retirement, Miller's 153 career saves ranked third all-time behind Hoyt Wilhelm (#276) and Roy Face (#347).  Miller is a member of the San Francisco Giants Wall of Fame and the Baltimore Orioles Hall of Fame.

Building the Set
March 6, 2022 from The Philly Show (Uncle Dick's Cards - Babylon, NY) - Card #520

This is the 36th of 102 cards acquired for our set from the Baseball Card Sports Memorabilia Show, affectionately known as The Philly Show, held in the basement of the Valley Forge Casino Resort in King of Prussia in early March.  We went nuts and left the show needing only 12 more cards to complete our 1965 Topps set, and I wrote about the show in detail over at The Phillies Room.  Having wandered aimlessly among the dealer tables looking for binders with vintage commons, I decided to check to see if Uncle Dick's had refreshed their inventory following the December show, during which I had wiped out both their 1965 Topps binders.  Much to my pleasant surprise, they had.  This Miller card was a surprisingly pricey $8 and was one of 49 commons purchased in my triumphant return to Uncle Dick's and his replenished neon green binders.

Depending on my ability to compose five posts a week on the cards acquired at this show, I should be completely caught up on this blog by mid-October.  It's entirely feasible we complete our 1965 Topps set by the end of 2022, although nine of the remaining 12 cards needed are fairly expensive.

The Card / Orioles Team Set
This is another photo taken during Orioles spring training, a common theme for a lot of the Orioles cards in the set.  Like a number of other Orioles cards for Miller's teammates, palm trees can be seen in the background.  The back of the card highlights Miller winning top relief pitcher honors in 1961 and 1963.

1965 Season
A veteran at 37 years old, Miller again served as the closer for the Orioles, making 67 appearances and securing 24 saves.  He was 14-7, tying his career high in wins, with a 1.89 ERA and 104 strikeouts in 119 1/3 innings pitched.  At one point he went 17 straight appearances without allowing a run, over a span of 31 innings.  Following the season, he was named the Orioles' MVP by local broadcasters and sportswriters for the second consecutive season.

Phillies Career
Miller came to the Phillies from the Cardinals on May 11, 1956 with Ben Flowers and Harvey Haddix (#67) in exchange for Murry Dickson and Herm Wehmeier.  He was used by manager Mayo Smith as a swing-man throughout the rest of the season, making 24 appearances overall, including 15 starts.  

He was 5-8 with a 4.47 ERA in 106 2/3 innings pitched, striking out 55.  Miller's Phillies' tenure was short-lived as he was traded again soon after the season ended, going to the Giants on October 11th for pitcher Jim Hearn.

1953 Topps #183

1958 Topps #111

1961 Topps #72

1964 Topps #565

1967 Topps #345

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1953 Topps #183
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (13):  1953-1954, 1956, 1958-1967
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  1994 Topps Archives 1954 #164

61 - Miller non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 5/28/22.

Sources:  
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
The Phillies Room
SABR
The Trading Card Database

Wikipedia

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