Damian Miller
Damian Miller | |
---|---|
![]() Miller with the Milwaukee Brewers in 2005 | |
Catcher | |
Born: La Crosse, Wisconsin | October 13, 1969|
Batted: Right Threw: Right | |
MLB debut | |
August 10, 1997, for the Minnesota Twins | |
Last MLB appearance | |
September 30, 2007, for the Milwaukee Brewers | |
MLB statistics | |
Batting average | .262 |
Home runs | 87 |
Runs batted in | 406 |
Teams | |
Career highlights and awards | |
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Damian Donald Miller (born October 13, 1969) is a former professional baseball catcher. He won the 2001 World Series with the Arizona Diamondbacks, beating the New York Yankees.
High school years[]
Miller attended West Salem High School in West Salem, Wisconsin and was a student and a letterman in football, basketball and baseball. Miller graduated from West Salem High School in 1987.
College and professional years[]
Miller attended Viterbo University in La Crosse, Wisconsin, and as a junior was named the NAIA District 14 Player of the Year and helped lead his team to the NAIA seminifinals.
Miller is not a member of the Major League Baseball Players Association, as he was a replacement player during the 1994 Major League Baseball strike. These players are barred from joining the players' union. His name also does not appear on any official commemorative merchandise from the Arizona Diamondbacks' 2001 World Series win.
Through his career, Miller has also played for the Minnesota Twins, Arizona Diamondbacks (winning the 2001 World Series), Chicago Cubs and Oakland Athletics. In May 2000, he hit the first walk-off grand slam in the history of both Chase Field and the Diamondbacks, doing so in the bottom of the 12th inning against Orel Hershiser of the Los Angeles Dodgers.[1] In Game 7 of the 2001 World Series he played a pivotal role in the 9th inning comeback against closer Mariano Rivera. With no outs and pinch runner David Dellucci on first base, he bunted an 0-1 pitch right back to Rivera who then errantly over threw Derek Jeter at second base allowing Dellucci to reach second safely. Midre Cummings would then pinch run for Miller after Jay Bell’s failed sacrifice bunt turned fielders choice. Cummings would score the tying run in the bottom of the ninth before Arizona ultimately won the World Series. The following year, Miller was named to the National League All-Star team.
On June 27, 2007, in a home game against the Houston Astros, Miller hit his second career walk-off home run in the bottom of the 11th inning to win the game for the Brewers. It was his first home run of the 2007 season. The walk-off came on La Crosse Day at Miller Park.[2] In his next game, he recorded a franchise-tying seven runs batted in, which included a grand slam and a two-run home run.[3]
After becoming a free agent after the 2007 season, Miller attracted interest from a couple of teams, but declined, saying the Brewers were the only team he wanted to play for.[4]
References[]
- ^ "Team Batting Event Finder: From 1925 to 2018, All Teams, Home Runs, Walk-off, For ARI, With Runners on 123". Baseball Reference. Retrieved July 15, 2018.
- ^ Home state hero connects with walk-off, June 27, 2007, retrieved June 27, 2007
- ^ "Miller goes 4-for-5 as Brewers pound Pirates". July 2, 2007, Associated Press. Retrieved on July 2, 2007.
- ^ "Some familiar faces still looking for work". May 28, 2008, Espn.com. Retrieved on May 28, 2008.
External links[]
- Career statistics and player information from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball-Reference, or Fangraphs
- 1969 births
- Living people
- Major League Baseball catchers
- Milwaukee Brewers players
- Arizona Diamondbacks players
- Minnesota Twins players
- Chicago Cubs players
- Oakland Athletics players
- National League All-Stars
- Baseball players from Wisconsin
- Major League Baseball replacement players
- Tucson Sidewinders players
- Nashville Xpress players
- Sportspeople from La Crosse, Wisconsin
- Viterbo Hawks baseball players
- Elizabethton Twins players
- Fort Myers Miracle players
- Kenosha Twins players
- Salt Lake Buzz players