Alan Bernard Mills (born October 18, 1966) is an American former
relief pitcher
In baseball and softball, a relief pitcher or reliever is a pitcher who enters the game after the starting pitcher is removed because of fatigue (medical), fatigue, ineffectiveness, injury, or ejection (sports), ejection, or for other strategic ...
and
pitching coach
In baseball, a number of coaches assist in the smooth functioning of a team. They are assistants to the manager, who determines the starting lineup and batting order, decides how to substitute players during the game, and makes strategy decisio ...
. He spent 12 seasons in
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...
(MLB) with the
New York Yankees
The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Amer ...
(1990–1991),
Baltimore Orioles
The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East division. As one of the American L ...
(1992–1998, 2000–2001) and
Los Angeles Dodgers
The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Established in 1883 in the city of Brooklyn ...
(1999–2000). He pitched right-handed.
Early years
Born in
Lakeland, Florida
Lakeland is the most populous city in Polk County, Florida, part of the Tampa Bay Area, located along Interstate 4 east of Tampa. According to the 2020 U.S. Census Bureau release, the city had a population of 112,641. Lakeland is a principal c ...
, on October 18, 1966, Mills was the youngest of Hugh and Alfreddia Mills' four children. His favorite sport in his youth was
football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
, but he switched to baseball after doctors informed him that he had only one
kidney
The kidneys are two reddish-brown bean-shaped organs found in vertebrates. They are located on the left and right in the retroperitoneal space, and in adult humans are about in length. They receive blood from the paired renal arteries; blood ...
. He graduated from
Kathleen High School
Kathleen Senior High School is the second oldest of four high schools in Lakeland, Florida, United States. It was originally housed north of its present location, at the site of the current Kathleen Middle School.outfielder
An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to cat ...
on the school's
varsity team
In most English-speaking countries, varsity is an abbreviation of the word ''university''. In the United States and Canada, the term is mostly used in relation to sports teams.
Varsity in the United Kingdom
In the United Kingdom, varsity team ...
before making the transition to pitcher. He attended
Tuskegee University
Tuskegee University (Tuskegee or TU), formerly known as the Tuskegee Institute, is a private, historically black land-grant university in Tuskegee, Alabama. It was founded on Independence Day in 1881 by the state legislature.
The campus was d ...
, but transferred to
Polk Community College
Polk State College, formerly Polk Community College, is a public college in Winter Haven, Florida. It is part of the Florida College System.
The college changed its name from Polk Community College in 2009 to reflect its first Bachelor's degre ...
after one year when the former dropped
baseball scholarships.
[Brown, Rick. "Former Baseball Pro Tries to Lift Kathleen High's Game," ''The Ledger'' (Lakeland, FL), Monday, December 27, 2010.](_blank)
/ref>
He was selected in the MLB Draft
The first-year player draft is the primary mechanism of Major League Baseball (MLB) for assigning amateur baseball players from high schools, colleges, and other amateur baseball clubs to its teams. The draft order is determined based on a lo ...
on two occasions in 1986, both times in phases that were discontinued later that year. He was chosen by the Boston Red Sox
The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight ...
(13th overall) and California Angels
The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. Since 1966, the team ha ...
(8th overall) in the first rounds of the regular phase of the January draft and the secondary phase of the June draft respectively.[Alan Mills (statistics & history) – Baseball-Reference.com.](_blank)
/ref> He decided to sign with the Angels over the Red Sox based on which team was willing to finance his final two years of college.
Mills spent just one season with the Salem Angels
Salem may refer to: Places
Canada
Ontario
* Bruce County
** Salem, Arran–Elderslie, Ontario, in the municipality of Arran–Elderslie
** Salem, South Bruce, Ontario, in the municipality of South Bruce
* Salem, Dufferin County, Ontario, part ...
of the Northwest League
The Northwest League is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the Pacific Northwest, Northwestern United States and Western Canada. A Class A Short Season league for most of its history, the league was promoted to High-A as part of Maj ...
, compiling a 6-6 record over fourteen starts, before the Angels sent him to the New York Yankees
The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Amer ...
to complete a December 19, 1986, deal in which the Yankees sent Butch Wynegar
Harold Delano "Butch" Wynegar Jr. (born March 14, 1956) is an American former professional baseball player and the current hitting coach for the Bradenton Marauders Class A-Advanced affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates. He played in Major League ...
to the Angels for Ron Romanick
Ronald James Romanick (born November 6, 1960) is an American professional baseball pitcher and pitching coach. He is the minor league pitching coordinator for the New York Mets organization. Romanick played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the C ...
and a player to be named later.
New York Yankees
Mills converted to a relief pitcher
In baseball and softball, a relief pitcher or reliever is a pitcher who enters the game after the starting pitcher is removed because of fatigue (medical), fatigue, ineffectiveness, injury, or ejection (sports), ejection, or for other strategic ...
during his three seasons in the Yankees' farm system, going 12–24 with a 4.25 ERA and thirteen saves. With the Prince William Cannons
A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. Th ...
of the Class A Carolina League
The Carolina League is a Minor League Baseball league which has operated along the Atlantic Coast of the United States since 1945. Having been classified at various levels throughout its existence, it operated at Class A-Advanced from 1990 unti ...
in , Mills went 6–1 with a 0.91 ERA and seven saves to lead his team to their first Carolina League title. Though he had never pitched above A ball, his performance earned him and invitation to Spring training
Spring training is the preseason in Major League Baseball (MLB), a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spring training allows new players to try out for Schedule (workplace), roster and position spo ...
in .
He made his major league debut on April 14, pitching 2.2 scoreless innings against the Texas Rangers. Mills went 1–5 with a 4.15 ERA his rookie year splitting his time between the Yankees and triple A Columbus Clippers
The Columbus Clippers are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Cleveland Guardians. They are located in Columbus, Ohio, and are named for speedy Merchant ship, mercha ...
. For Columbus, he was 3–3 with a 3.38 ERA and six saves.
Mills spent most of in the minors, however, made two starts upon returning to the club in September. He was traded to the Baltimore Orioles
The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East division. As one of the American L ...
for a player to be named later during Spring training the following season.
As of 2021, Mills is the only Yankee to wear number 69 in a regular season game.
Baltimore Orioles
Mills emerged as a valuable member of the Orioles' bullpen upon his arrival in Baltimore. He went 10–4 with a 2.61 ERA over 103.1 innings in .
Mills made a team high 72 appearances in , going 3–4 with a 3.74 ERA. Perhaps the most famous moment of Mills' career came on May 19, , when he gave Darryl Strawberry
Darryl Eugene Strawberry (born March 12, 1962) is an American former professional baseball right fielder and author who played 17 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). Throughout his career, Strawberry was one of the most feared sluggers in th ...
a right cross that bloodied his face in the dugout during a bench clearing brawl with the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium
Yankee Stadium is a baseball stadium located in the Bronx, New York City. It is the home field of the New York Yankees of Major League Baseball, and New York City FC of Major League Soccer.
Opened in April 2009, the stadium replaced the origi ...
. Strawberry had just hit Mills' teammate Armando Benítez
Armando Benítez (born November 3, 1972) is a Dominican former major league relief pitcher. Benítez debuted with the Baltimore Orioles in 1994 and within a few years became their closer. He was a reliever for several other organizations after Ba ...
with a cheap shot during a melee, and Mills promptly defended Benitez by clocking Strawberry point-blank.
The following season, Mills signed as a free agent with the Los Angeles Dodgers
The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Established in 1883 in the city of Brooklyn ...
. After a season and a half in Los Angeles, he was dealt back to the Orioles for Alberto Reyes
Alberto Reyes is a Uruguayan classical pianist,[strikeout
In baseball or softball, a strikeout (or strike-out) occurs when a batter accumulates three strikes during a time at bat. It usually means that the batter is out. A strikeout is a statistic recorded for both pitchers and batters, and is deno ...]
s and a 4.12 ERA
An era is a span of time defined for the purposes of chronology or historiography, as in the regnal eras in the history of a given monarchy, a calendar era used for a given calendar, or the geological eras defined for the history of Earth.
Comp ...
in 474 games
A game is a structured form of play, usually undertaken for entertainment or fun, and sometimes used as an educational tool. Many games are also considered to be work (such as professional players of spectator sports or games) or art (such ...
.
Mills wore jersey number 75 with the Orioles. Numbers that high are typically only worn by players in spring training (when teams have considerably larger rosters than they do during the regular season). Mills chose to wear it as a motivating factor, to remind himself that his job was not necessarily any more secure than that of someone in spring training should he perform poorly.
Erie SeaWolves
Mills attempted comebacks with the Montreal Expos
The Montreal Expos (french: link=no, Les Expos de Montréal) were a Canadian professional baseball team based in Montreal, Quebec. The Expos were the first Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise located outside the United States. They played in t ...
in Spring training and the Tampa Bay Devil Rays
The Tampa Bay Rays are an American professional baseball team based in St. Petersburg, Florida. The Rays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since its inception, the team's home venu ...
in , but was essentially away from the game for five years before signing a minor league deal with the Detroit Tigers
The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the American League (AL) Central division. One of the AL's eight charter franchises, the club was f ...
in , and spending one season with the Erie SeaWolves
The Erie SeaWolves are an United States, American professional baseball team based in Erie, Pennsylvania. They compete in Minor League Baseball (MiLB) as a member of the Eastern League (1938–present), Eastern League's Southwest Division, serving ...
. In his first 27 games, he went 23-for-23 in save opportunities, posting a 1.65 ERA and limiting batters to a .154 batting average
Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic.
Cricket
In cricket, a player's batting average is ...
.
Post-retirement
Mills returned to his alma mater Kathleen High School as a physical education
Physical education, often abbreviated to Phys Ed. or P.E., is a subject taught in schools around the world. It is usually taught during primary and secondary education, and encourages psychomotor learning by using a play and movement explorati ...
teacher and head coach of its varsity baseball team from 2009 through 2011. It was also during that time that he earned a Bachelor of Arts
Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...
degree in psychology
Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Psychology includes the study of conscious and unconscious phenomena, including feelings and thoughts. It is an academic discipline of immense scope, crossing the boundaries betwe ...
from Ashford University
The University of Arizona Global Campus, formerly Ashford University, is an online university "operated in affiliation with the University of Arizona." In 2020, Ashford University was acquired by the University of Arizona, becoming the Universit ...
in 2009. He has also served as a pitching coach in the New York–Penn League
The New York–Penn League (NYPL) was a Minor League Baseball league that operated in the northeastern United States from 1939 to 2020. Classified as a Class A Short Season league, its season started in June, after major-league teams signed the ...
for the Oneonta Tigers
The Oneonta Tigers were a minor league baseball team located in Oneonta, New York. They were members of the New York–Penn League. The Tigers were the Short-Season A classification affiliate of the Detroit Tigers, and played their home games at ...
in 2008.
His return to the Orioles organization in 2012 began a five-year span as pitching coach with the Aberdeen IronBirds
The Aberdeen IronBirds are a Minor League Baseball team based in the city of Aberdeen in Harford County, Maryland. They are the High-A affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles and compete in the South Atlantic League. They were previously members of th ...
(2012–2013), Delmarva Shorebirds
The Delmarva Shorebirds are a Minor League Baseball team based in Salisbury, Maryland. They are members of the Carolina League and the Single-A affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles. Their home games are played at Arthur W. Perdue Stadium. The Shore ...
(2014) and Bowie Baysox
The Bowie Baysox are a Minor League Baseball team located in Bowie, Maryland. They are the Double-A affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles, and play in the Eastern League. Their home ballpark is Prince George's Stadium.
History
From 1989 to 1992, ...
(2015–2016).["Orioles name Minor League managers, coaches, and staff," Baltimore Orioles, Friday, February 8, 2019.](_blank)
Retrieved September 4, 2019 His 2015 campaign with Bowie was the first time the Baysox captured the Eastern League Championship. After two seasons as the Orioles' bullpen coach in 2017
File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a ser ...
and 2018
File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...
, he was announced as the manager
Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business.
Management includes the activities o ...
of the GCL Orioles
The Florida Complex League Orioles are a Rookie-level affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles, competing in the Florida Complex League of Minor League Baseball. Before 2021, the team was known as the Gulf Coast League Orioles. The team plays its home ...
on February 8, 2019. Despite the Gulf Coast League
The Florida Complex League (FCL) is a rookie-level Minor League Baseball league that operates in Florida, United States. Before 2021, it was known as the Gulf Coast League (GCL). Together with the Arizona Complex League (ACL), it forms the lo ...
cancelling its playoffs due to the threat of Hurricane Dorian
Hurricane Dorian was an extremely powerful and catastrophic Category 5 Atlantic hurricane, which became the most intense tropical cyclone on record to strike the Bahamas, and tied for strongest landfall in the Atlantic basin. It is also reg ...
, Mills was named Manager of the Year after guiding the Orioles to a league-best 38–15 record in his first full season at the helm. Team records were established or matched in winning percentage (.717) and wins respectively, with the latter tying the 2011 GCL Orioles. On October 4, 2021, Mills was fired by the Baltimore organization.
References
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mills, Alan
1966 births
Living people
African-American baseball coaches
African-American baseball players
Baltimore Orioles coaches
Baltimore Orioles players
Baseball players from Florida
Bowie Baysox players
Columbus Clippers players
Erie SeaWolves players
Fort Lauderdale Yankees players
Frederick Keys players
Gulf Coast Orioles players
Los Angeles Dodgers players
Major League Baseball bullpen coaches
Major League Baseball pitchers
Minor league baseball coaches
New York Yankees players
Polk State College alumni
Prince William Cannons players
Prince William Yankees players
Rochester Red Wings players
Salem Angels players
Sportspeople from Lakeland, Florida
Tuskegee Golden Tigers baseball players
21st-century African-American people
20th-century African-American sportspeople