Miles Glenn Gardner (January 25, 1916 – July 7, 1964) was a Major League Baseball pitcher who played for the St. Louis Cardinals in 1945. The 29-year-old rookie right-hander was a native of

Burnsville, North Carolina Burnsville is a town that serves as the county seat of Yancey County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 1,693 at the 2010 census. History The town was founded on March 6, 1834, from land conveyed by John "Yellow Jacket" Bailey, ...

. Gardner was one of many ballplayers who only appeared in the Major Leagues during World War II. He played quite well during his time with St. Louis. He made his major league debut in relief on July 21, 1945, against the

Brooklyn Dodgers The Brooklyn Dodgers were a Major League Baseball team founded in 1884 as a member of the American Association (19th century), American Association before joining the National League in 1890. They remained in Brooklyn until 1957, after which the ...

at Sportsman's Park. His first major league win came in his first start, hurling a 7–0 shutout against the

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. Since 2004, the team's home sta ...

in the second game of a home doubleheader on August 15, 1945. Gardner's season and career totals for 17

games pitched In baseball statistics, games pitched (denoted by Games G in tables of only pitching statistics) is the number of games in which a player appears as a pitcher; a player who is announced as the pitcher must face at least one batter, although except ...

include a 3–1 record, 4 starts, 2

complete game In baseball, a complete game (CG) is the act of a pitcher pitching an entire game without the benefit of a relief pitcher. A pitcher who meets this criterion will be credited with a complete game regardless of the number of innings played—pitche ...

s, 1 shutout, 4 games finished, 1 save, and an

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. Compa ...

of 3.29 in 54.2

innings pitched In baseball, innings pitched (IP) are the number of innings a pitcher has completed, measured by the number of batters and baserunners that are put out while the pitcher is on the pitching mound in a game. Three outs made is equal to one innin ...

. Gardner was an all-around talented player, as he hit and fielded extremely well. At the plate, he was 7-for-21 (.333) with a walk, 2 runs batted in, and 1

run scored In baseball, a run is scored when a player advances around first, second and third base and returns safely to home plate, touching the bases in that order, before three outs are recorded and all obligations to reach base safely on batted balls ...

. On defense, he handled 10

chances Chances may refer to: * ''Chances'' (TV series), an Australian soap opera * ''Chances'' (Philippine TV series), a prime-time soap opera * '' Chances: The Women of Magdalene'', a 2006 documentary film * ''Chances'' (novel), a 1981 novel by Jac ...

flawlessly for a

fielding percentage In baseball statistics, fielding percentage, also known as fielding average, is a measure that reflects the percentage of times a defensive player properly handles a batted or thrown ball. It is calculated by the sum of putouts and assists, div ...

of 1.000. Gardner died at the age of 48 in Rochester, New York.

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External links

, o
Retrosheet
1916 births 1964 deaths Baseball players from North Carolina Farnham Pirates players Gastonia Cardinals players Houston Buffaloes players Little Rock Travelers players Lockport Locks players Major League Baseball pitchers Minor league baseball managers Mobile Shippers players Nashville Vols players Navegantes del Magallanes players American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela People from Burnsville, North Carolina Rochester Red Wings players Shelby Cardinals players St. Jean Braves players St. Louis Cardinals players Tulsa Oilers (baseball) players Union Springs Springers players {{US-baseball-pitcher-1910s-stub