Classic Card: John Miller, 1966

A hard-throwing Baltimore native, he realized his childhood dream of pitching for the Orioles before shoulder injuries shortened his career. But he never wallowed in disappointment.

There’s a reason why John Miller has such a determined look on the Topps card at the top of this post. When the photo was taken, before the 1966 season, he thought he’d finally earned a chance to prove he was a major league pitcher.

It had taken him a long time; since signing with the Orioles out of Baltimore’s Edmondson High School in 1960, Miller had thrown most of his pitches in the minor leagues. No one doubted that he had what it took — at 6-feet-2 and 200 pounds, he piled up strikeout totals with a sharp fastball and deceptive slider. He just didn’t throw strikes consistently enough for the Orioles’ decision-makers.

But when the Orioles released veteran Robin Roberts during the 1965 season, it opened a slot in their rotation. They give Miller a shot and he delivered nicely, going 6-4 with a 3.19 ERA over 16 starts down the stretch. Now, going into the 1966 season at age 24, he was penciled in as Orioles manager Hank Bauer’s No. 4 starter behind Steve Barber, Dave McNally and Wally Bunker.

It was a great opportunity.

But trouble lurked in the strong right shoulder that had carried Miller that far.

He’d dealt with shoulder pain throughout his career, learning along the way that he had to live with it if he wanted to play. “Back then, you threw as hard as you could and you took your chances that your arm would hold out. Some did. Mine didn’t,” Miller told the Baltimore Sun years later.

But he was hopeful when he made his debut as the No. 4 starter in 1966, and Oriole fans were just as hopeful because Miller was, essentially, one of them. Growing up in Baltimore, he’d first learned the game from his father, a foreman for Arundel-Brooks Concrete, and pitched for Leone’s, Walter Youse’s championship amateur team. Scouts for several major league teams had pursued him, but he’d signed with the Orioles because he’d dreamed of pitching for his hometown team. Now, he was doing just that.

His first start of 1966 went well; he pitched into the seventh inning against the White Sox, striking out seven and allowing two runs. His next start went even better — he tossed eight shutout innings against the Indians in a game the Orioles eventually won, 1-0, in 13 innings.

Baltimore soon took command of the American League race. But Miller didn’t sustain his early success. He gave up six runs in three innings against the Tigers and allowed nine base runners in four innings against the Athletics. There was too much traffic on the bases, and when a pair of losses to the Red Sox dropped Miller’s record to 0-4, Bauer began giving some of his starts to a 20-year-old who’d been earmarked for either Triple-A or Baltimore’s bullpen in 1966 — Jim Palmer.

Palmer ended up making 30 starts that season, winning 15 games and out-dueling the Dodgers’ Sandy Koufax in Game 2 of the World Series, which the Orioles won in a sweep.

Miller ended up being a stopgap starter between future Hall of Fame inductees. Roberts’ departure had given him a shot at a spot in the rotation. Palmer’s ascendance took that shot away. His lingering shoulder soreness didn’t help.

“I thought I was going to Triple-A (in 1966) and John would’ve been one of the regular starters,” Palmer told the Sun years later. “In those days, you got hurt and somebody else got a chance. I just happened to be there.”

Miller pitched mostly out of the bullpen down the stretch in 1966 and didn’t appear in the World Series. But he did earn a World Series ring.

Early in the 1967 season, after Miller made two forgettable relief appearances for the Orioles, the club sold him to the Mets. He never pitched in the majors again and soon retired from baseball at age 27. His shoulder was just too problematic.

It was disappointing, but Miller didn’t wallow in it. He jumped right into the next part of his life, becoming a Baltimore County fireman. For 28 years, he drove Truck 13 out of the Westview station and painted houses on the side to help put three children through Catholic school.

Humble and quiet by nature, Miller elected not to frame his baseball career as a disappointment. He’d made it to the majors, started 35 games for his hometown team over parts of five seasons, pitched to a 3.89 ERA and earned a World Series ring.

Not bad.

When Miller died in 2020 at age 79, Palmer, who’d remained a good friend, marveled at the positive perspective Miller maintained despite his abbreviated career.

“You’d talk to John, and it never affected his personality,” Palmer said. “He was the same guy I met when he was healthy and pitching well and maintained an ERA around three runs a game. A lot of people live that life of ‘I could’ve been a contender.’ But it never seemed to bother John.”