Edward Lee Miller (born June 29, 1957) is an
American former professional
baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...
player. He played in the
major leagues as an
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 c ...
from to for the
Texas Rangers,
Atlanta Braves
The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East division. The Braves were founded in Bos ...
,
Detroit Tigers and
San Diego Padres
The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1969, the club has won two NL penn ...
. Listed at 5' 9", 175 lb., Miller was a
switch hitter and threw left handed.
Career
Miller was born in
San Pablo, California
San Pablo (Spanish for "St. Paul") is an enclave city in Contra Costa County, California, United States. The city of Richmond surrounds nearly the whole city. The population was 29,139 at the 2010 census. The current Mayor is Rita Xavier. C ...
. He was selected by the Rangers in the second round of the
1975 MLB Draft
First round selections
The following are the first round picks in the 1975 Major League Baseball draft. Many baseball draft experts consider the 1975 draft to be the weakest in MLB history.
Other notable selections
''*'' Did not sign
N ...
out of
Harry Ells High School in
Richmond, California. His only major league home run came in his last career at bat.
Miller was traded along with
Adrian Devine
Paul Adrian Devine (December 2, 1951June 27, 2020) was an American professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a right-handed pitcher in and from through for the Atlanta Braves and Texas Rangers. He batted and threw ...
and
Tommy Boggs
Thomas Winton Boggs (October 25, 1955 – October 5, 2022) was an American professional baseball player and college baseball coach. He played in Major League Baseball as a right-handed pitcher for the Texas Rangers (1976–1977, 1985) and the ...
from the Rangers to the Braves in the first four-team blockbuster deal in Major League Baseball history on December 8, 1977 that also involved the
Pittsburgh Pirates,
New York Mets
The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. They are one of two major league ...
and a total of eleven players changing teams. The Rangers received
Al Oliver
Albert Oliver Jr. (born October 14, 1946) is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as an outfielder and first baseman from through , most notably as a member of the Pittsburgh Pirates teams that won f ...
and
Nelson Norman
Nelson Augusto Norman (born May 23, 1958) is a Dominican-American former professional baseball player, coach and manager. He played in Major League Baseball as a shortstop from to for the Texas Rangers and the Pittsburgh Pirates. He returned to ...
from the Pirates and
Jon Matlack
Jonathan Trumpbour Matlack (born January 19, 1950) is an American former professional baseball player and coach. He played in Major League Baseball as a left-handed pitcher from through for the New York Mets and the Texas Rangers.
The three-t ...
from the Mets. The Pirates acquired
Bert Blyleven
Bert Blyleven (born Rik Aalbert Blijleven, April 6, 1951) is a Dutch-American former professional baseball pitcher who played 22 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1970 to 1992, primarily with the Minnesota Twins. Blyleven recorded 3,701 ...
from the Rangers and
John Milner
John David Milner (December 28, 1949 – January 4, 2000) was an American professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a first baseman and left fielder from to for the New York Mets, Pittsburgh Pirates and the Montreal E ...
from the Mets. The Mets got from the Braves
Willie Montañez
Guillermo Montañez Naranjo (born April 1, 1948) is a Puerto Rican former professional baseball first baseman, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the California Angels (), Philadelphia Phillies (–, ), San Francisco Giants (–), ...
and from the Rangers
Tom Grieve and
Ken Henderson
Kenneth Joseph Henderson (born June 15, 1946) is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as an outfielder from through for the San Francisco Giants, Chicago White Sox, Atlanta Braves, Texas Rangers, ...
who was sent to New York to complete the transaction three months later on March 15, 1978.
Durso, Joseph. "Mets Get Ken Henderson, Outfielder, From Rangers," ''The New York Times'', Thursday, March 16, 1978.
Retrieved April 30, 2020
Miller also played 14 minor league seasons between 1975 and 1990, including stints in the Mexican League
The Mexican League (, ) is a professional baseball league based in Mexico and the oldest running professional league in the country.
The league has 18 teams organized in two divisions, North and South. Teams play 114 games each season. Five te ...
and Venezuelan Winter Baseball.
References
External links
Retrosheet
Mexican League
Venezuelan Professional Baseball League
1957 births
Living people
African-American baseball players
American expatriate baseball players in Mexico
Asheville Tourists players
Atlanta Braves players
Baseball players from California
Beaumont Golden Gators players
Detroit Tigers players
Evansville Triplets players
Gulf Coast Rangers players
Leones del Caracas players
American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela
Major League Baseball outfielders
Mexican League baseball players
Portland Beavers players
Reno Padres players
Richmond Braves players
Rieleros de Aguascalientes players
San Diego Padres players
Sportspeople from Richmond, California
Sultanes de Monterrey players
Texas Rangers players
Tiburones de La Guaira players
Tulsa Drillers players
21st-century African-American people
20th-century African-American sportspeople
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